MOSCOW, March 28 - VTB is not ruling out the option of transforming its Ukrainian subsidiary - VTB (Ukraine) - into a financial company, and will make a final decision on the subsidiary's fate before the end of 2017, VTB Chairman Andrei Kostin told journalists on the sidelines of the Association of Russian Banks congress.

"There are two paths: the bank sale path, the path of gradually reducing the balance sheet, perhaps, transformation into a financial company; a new law in Ukraine has been approved. We will see… Overall we would like to arrive at one of the two decisions by the end of the year," Kostin said, emphasizing that VTB wants to transact "a truly good deal" with the Ukrainian subsidiary.