The U.S. Treasury said it was slapping the sanctions on Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social de Venezuela, including its subsidiaries in Uruguay and Bolivia. It also imposed sanctions on state-owned Venezuelan commercial banks, including Banco de Venezuela and Banco Bicentenario.
In a statement, Venezuela's foreign ministry said it "energetically rejects the unilateral, coercive, arbitrary and illegal measures" taken by the Trump administration. It said the sanctions would affect millions of Venezuelan people and companies who use the banks.
Congress head Guaido, who invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency in January, has accused Bandes of being used by President Nicolas Maduro's government to funnel money outside Venezuela.
The White House said in a statement it was committed to preventing Maduro's government from stealing Venezuela's resources and from arresting those pushing for political change.