In 2013, the Central Bank of Russia started revoking licenses from fraudulent banks. By 2020, two-thirds of all operating banks had been shuttered. We analyze this unique period in history with credit register data. Following “sin” bank closure, poorly-performing “bad” firms rush to...

We study the impact of global financial sanctions on the Russian banks and economy. Financial sanctions were consecutively imposed between 2014 and 2019, allowing potentially-targeted (but not yet sanctioned) banks to adjust their international and domestic exposures. Compared to similar other...