EU Mulls Sanctioning Two Small China Banks for Russia Trade

China Customs officers raise a Chinese flag along the Bund in front of the Lujiazui Financial District at sunrise in Shanghai, China.Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

The European Union has proposed sanctioning two small Chinese banks for helping Russia get around the bloc’s existing trade restrictions, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

Under the proposed sanctions, EU-based financial institutions would be banned from conducting any transactions with the two regional lenders which are based near China’s border with Russia. Bloomberg is not identifying the banks because the measures have not yet been published.