VTB has cut the number of staff it employs in London by more than 100 over the past 18 months, as US-led sanctions against Russian companies continue to bite at the country’s second largest bank.

The Russian bank operates under US and European sanctions, which also apply to Andrei Kostin, its chief executive, who is considered a close associate of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The sanctions relate to VTB’s involvement in the turmoil in Ukraine.