MOSCOW, July 17. /ITAR-TASS/. The third round of US sanctions targeting Vnesheconombank (VEB) and Gazprombank has psychological rather than financial effect, Deputy Chairman of the Duma committee for financial market Anatoly Aksakov says. Director of the Higher School of Economics (HSE) Banking Institute Vasily Solodkov shares the view - the new sanctions are softer than expected, but the situation might deteriorate any time soon should Europe and the international payment systems be involved.

“These sanctions mainly create problems for attracting lending from abroad. VEB and Gazprombank were ready for this, since the Central Bank and the government based their plans on much tougher scenarios,” Aksakov told ITAR-TASS. “I think the sanctions will not considerably affect either these organizations’ operations or the financial system stability as a whole. I am calm about the situation, and I am not dramatizing. These US actions cause rather psychological than material damage.”

VEB will not feel any effects on its capital, the expert believes, as it has been recently decided to convert the National Wealth Fund deposits into the bank’s capital, so the bank has sources to substitute foreign funding.

HSE's Solodkov also believes the limitations on use of foreign liquidity pose no threat to VEB since this state corporation is not a classical credit organization and receives funds not from the market, but from the government.

“The situation is more complicated with Gazprombank,” the expert said. “Though a state bank, it has a considerable private capital stake.” However, at this stage, the situation was not critical, he added. Besides, the bank has succeeded to attract foreign funding in time.