BlackRock's Fink says Russia essentially cut off from global capital markets

(Reuters) - Russia has essentially been cut off from global capital markets as western companies and investors increasingly shun doing business in the country following its invasion of Ukraine, BlackRock Inc CEO Larry Fink said on Wednesday.

In a statement on LinkedIn, Fink said American brands like McDonald's Corp, PepsiCo, and Visa Inc suspending or curtailing their operations in Russia was helping isolate the country's economy from the global financial system and showed the commitment of major brands to "go beyond profit".

Earlier this month, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, suspended the purchase of all Russian securities in its active and index funds.

Western sanctions on Moscow have led a slew of investors to announce they were cutting positions in Russia. Authorities in Russia, however, have banned local brokers from selling securities held by foreigners.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)