Vladimir Putin told the heads of Russia's leading banks yesterday to scrap their summer holidays and help overcome the steep recession by lending more - even as the country braces for a surge in bad loans.

The prime minister called on state banks to boost lending by up to $16bn (€11.4bn) in fresh loans to shore up the economy, which has been battered by plunging commodity prices and the lack of international credit and is forecast to contract by 8.5 per cent this year.