Russian banks among riskiest - S&P

Russia's banking system is still considered among the riskiest in the world despite strong economic growth, ratings agency Standard…

Russia's banking system is still considered among the riskiest in the world despite strong economic growth, ratings agency Standard and Poor's said today.

"You may have very high economic growth in Russia but the economy is very concentrated in the oil and gas sector. So the real economy in Russia, which the banking sector normally intermediates has a lot of risks still there," said Mr John Gibling, director of financial services ratings at S&P before a conference on emerging market banks.

"High economic and industry risks make the Russian banking system one of the riskiest in the world," said Mr Gibling.