Five Russian state-owned banks operate in Ukraine, with a combined market share of 8.6 percent and liabilities of 36 billion hryvnia (1 billion pounds). Sberbank (>> Sberbank Rossii PAO), VEB and VTB (>> Bank VTB PAO) are among the top 20 largest lenders.

Ukraine imposed new sanctions on the lenders that took effect on Thursday, including prohibiting them from taking money out of Ukraine.

"These banks are relatively stable today and their activities do not in any way threaten the stability of Ukraine's banking system," Rozhkova told reporters.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Larry King)

Stocks treated in this article : Sberbank Rossii PAO, Bank VTB PAO