Reuters
Russian lawmakers gave preliminary approval to proposed legislation on Thursday that would allow foreign banks to open branches in Russia, a step the finance ministry said it hoped would alleviate issues with cross-border settlements. International settlements have been a problem for Moscow after Western sanctions, imposed over the conflict in Ukraine, blocked major Russian banks' access to the SWIFT global payments system. "Settlements are the economy's connecting thread," Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Sazanov told lawmakers when presenting the bill, which was passed during its first reading in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.