Ukraine’s government is to nationalise seven troubled banks in coming weeks as part of a multi-billion-dollar bail-out plan intended to stabilise the country’s shaky banking sector.

'The government is taking a controlling stake in those commercial banks whose owners were not able to effectively manage them,' Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s prime minister, said on Friday.

Five of the seven banks to be nationalised this spring rank among Ukraine’s 20 largest banks in terms of net assets.

Financial Times