Russian Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Savatyugin, who oversees the financial markets, banking and insurance sectors, has submitted his resignation. He published a photo of the letter on Twitter, asking Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to accept his resignation from January 9. Savatyugin, who has been in the job since 2010, declined to comment to Reuters on his future job plans.

His resignation comes before a reform of the Russian financial sector as the government plans to bring regulation of financial markets and banks under one roof at the central bank in a move seen part of a drive to transform Moscow into an international financial hub.

Copyright Reuters, 2012