Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is now the second-largest investor after the state in VTB, Russia’s state bank, following the privatisation of a 14 per cent government stake this month.

It was the second significant stake in a state bank to be sold as part of plans to privatise Russian banks announced in June 2012. In September, the central bank sold a 7.6 per cent share in Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, bringing the government ownership to 50 per cent plus one share.