US Official: US “dramatically escalating” financial shock on Russia by cutting off largest banks

The US is "dramatically escalating" the financial shock on Russia, a senior Biden administration official said on Wednesday, by cutting off the country's largest banks, reported Reuters. The US is to impose full blocking sanctions on Russia's Sberbank and Alfa Bank, the official added, while US President Joe Biden is also set to sign a new executive order banning all new investment in Russia. 

The official explained that Sberbank is critical to Russia's financial system and holds one-third of Russia's total banking assets and added that Biden's new executive order will ensure that the recent private-sector exodus from Russia continues. More than 600 multinational corporations have already left the country, the official said.