Russia’s banking sector faces significant challenges in 2015 as an economic crisis broadens which may lead to nearly 20% of its banks collapsing this year, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported on Tuesday, citing Russian think tank the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASF).

This year, over 200 Russian banks could collapse due to a combination of bad loans and the plunge in the value of the Russian ruble which is crippling small and mid-sized banks, the Vedomosti reported.

While maintaining the current tight interest rate policy (under the “status quo” scenario, given the growth rate up to 37%) more than 280 banks in 2015 and 230 in 2016 will need additional capital in excess of $1.2 rubles, Vedomosti reported.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P) downgraded Russia’s sovereign debt rating to junk status on Monday.

Read the full article on Vedomosti