ON RISK OF GLOBAL CRISIS AMID INTERNATIONAL BANK SECTOR WORRIES NABIULLINA: "We assume that this will not lead to some kind of global crisis."
ZABOTKIN: "A large-scale global financial crisis is not part of the baseline scenario that we are working from. We note that, yes, the risk of such a scenario has increased somewhat and, if it materialises, it will be a pro-inflationary risk."
NABIULLINA, ON REPORTED PLAN FOR ASSET SWAP BETWEEN
SBERBANK AND RAIFFEISEN
"As for the exchange of assets between banks, here we do not have any common position... it may be a question of transferring money abroad, of course, then you would need special permission. So far we have not received any proposals on these specific transactions, so I can't comment here."
NABIULLINA, ON RATE SIGNAL "We gave a signal that we can raise the rate if pro-inflation risks rise. On the one hand, the inflationary background has been subdued in recent weeks, on the other hand we have additional pro-inflationary risk due to turbulence in the U.S. financial sector, and the price expectations of enterprises have remained high. Therefore, we now see that the balance of risks has so far not changed compared to last time. This means that there is a possibility of a rate hike, but it is not predetermined."
NABIULLINA, ON CONTACTS WITH FOREIGN CENTRAL BANKS "We still have contacts with central banks, especially those that are ready to talk to us. We have practically no contacts with Western banks, but nevertheless the information about what is going on is public. We are able to assess it."
NABIULLINA, ON RUSSIAN BANKING STABILITY AMID GLOBAL RISKS "We will certainly monitor the situation. We do not see a domino effect on the Russian system. (Firstly) our Russian financial system is much less connected with the global one ... And secondly, as far as the stability of our banks is concerned, they are less exposed to the kind of vulnerability that banks in the United States and the European Union are showing. They simply do not have the kind of accumulated risks on their balance sheet that were created by a long period of low rates. These risks are not because central banks are raising rates now, but because there have been long periods of low rates."
NABIULLINA, ON BANK DIVIDENDS "As for the possibility of banks paying dividends and whether it will affect their financial stability ... You know that we decided that banks can pay dividends of up to 50%, if they stick to the schedule, including creating reserves and increasing margins ... If banks adhere to the schedule, they can pay 50%." NABIULLINA, ON OWNERSHIP OF ALFA BANK
"As regards a change of ownership at Alfa Bank, we have not yet received any such proposals, we do not understand the structure of the deal. I cannot say whether it requires the approval of the Central Bank as we have not received any request from the owners or the bank."
NABIULLINA, ON THE 'DIGITAL ROUBLE' "As for the allegedly accelerated consideration of the bill on the digital rouble, it's not accelerated at all, it's absolutely planned. We are proceeding according to plan..." "We see positive consequences of the introduction of the digital rouble. Some of the banks' fears that they will have liquidity problems were discussed in detail. We do not see such risks for several months, and so we will move as planned."
NABIULLINA, ON DIVIDEND PAYOUTS FOR NON-RESIDENTS "Regarding the easing of restrictions on dividends, we support the proposal to liberalise the payment of dividends (received) from those investments that were made after last March." "We don't see any risks from it for volatility or for inflation, but we believe that it will increase the investment appeal and create more trust for investors to invest in the Russian economy. Right now the economy needs investment. It seems to me that this is absolutely the justified, right decision." NABIULLINA, ON INTERNATIONAL BANKING WORRIES "There is no direct impact on the Russian financial system, but this new factor itself adds uncertainty about the future trajectory of the global economy." "The current situation exacerbates the problem of balancing the goals of monetary policy and the risks to financial stability for Western central banks. On the one hand, we see vulnerability of the financial sector to interest rate and other risks; on the other hand, the current inflationary pressure remains elevated." "For Russia, a global economic slowdown means lower demand for our export goods, which could mean additional pro-inflationary pressure." NABIULLINA, ON FUTURE RATE DECISIONS "Economic activity continues to grow, inflation dynamics remain restrained, inflationary expectations of the population have decreased markedly, but remain elevated. External conditions have deteriorated somewhat. Overall, risks remain skewed toward the pro-inflationary side, so we continue to believe that the probability of a rate hike this year exceeds the probability of a rate cut." (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
