Russian Central Bank (CB) Governor Elvira Nabiulina said this Wednesday that it is not currently possible to lift all of the currency restrictions that were put in place to combat Western sanctions against the Russian financial market due to the military campaign in Ukraine.
“Currency control should protect against sanctions pressure and at the same time interfere as little as possible in foreign economic activity.” This is the balance we are fighting for,” the economist said at a joint meeting of several economic committees of the Duma or the lower house.
The BCR has begun easing some currency controls, but Nabiulina says it’s impossible to lift them all.
“Anti-crisis measures are strong medicine and, like any strong medicine, they have side effects. Therefore, they should be discontinued as soon as the patient can do without them. Otherwise, these side effects will negate all the positives,” he said.
The head of the Russian monetary institution stressed that the BCR is acting in accordance with this rule: “We started to loosen currency controls as soon as the situation calmed down a bit, but it is impossible to completely eliminate them,” she said.
In early March 2022, against the backdrop of Western sanctions and financial market volatility, the Bank of Russia restricted the circulation of money in the country.
The regulator banned the purchase of cash foreign currency by individuals and limited the issuance of existing deposits to $10,000 for six months, until September 2022.
Since then, the Bank of Russia has extended these restrictions twice, and the measure is currently in effect until September 9, 2023.
The Russian financial institution also extended until September 30, 2023 restrictions on the transfer of funds to foreign banks for individuals.
In addition, in March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree banning the export of cash in excess of 10,000 Russian dollars, although the central bank can issue permits for larger amounts.
Nabiulina also argued that foreign exchange earnings from exports to Russia should not be repatriated, as this allows Russian companies and citizens to pay for necessary imports.
On February 28, 2022, Putin signed a decree obliging Russian exporters to sell 80% of foreign currency and convert it into rubles, although he later reduced this amount to 50% and abolished this requirement last June.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.