Russia’s banking system stands firmly
To help banks adapt to the new situation, the Bank of Russia introduced temporary regulatory easing
Despite the recent pandemic, Russia’s banking system stands firmly on its feet and can withstand serious blows, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said on Monday.
“By the beginning of 2022, capital stock in banks, taking into account accumulated buffers and macro allowances, amounted to around 7 trillion rubles, which is even more than half of the total capital. This is enough to cover up to 10% of loan losses at the moment, which is 2-3 times higher than the level of annual losses during past crises,” she said.
However, despite the fact that the margin of safety is very high, it is distributed unevenly, Nabiullina emphasized. The regulator will take this into account when developing the necessary support measures.
To help banks adapt to the new situation, the Bank of Russia introduced temporary regulatory easing. “The easing is currently unprecedented in scope – which is adequate in comparison with the scale of the problems we are facing,” Nabiullina stressed.
