Govt to use CB key rate in acts instead of refi rate from Jan 1
MOSCOW. Dec 10 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed an order on the use of the Central Bank's key rate instead of the refinancing rate in government acts from January 1, 2016.
"I have signed a document concerning, on the face of it, a technical matter but still an important one. From January 1 next year, all government documents in which the refinancing rate has been established will use the Bank of Russia key rate, except in cases when this is directly stipulated by law. Today, the key rate is the main indicator of monetary policy in the country, so this decision - and we have talked about it at various meetings and consulted with the Central Bank - this is entirely appropriate. I would ask you to go by this," he said.
The government resolution on the matter was posted on the government's website. It states that the measure was due to the change of the role of the refinancing rate in the system of Bank of Russia instruments and the introduction on September 12, 2013 of the key rate, a new concept in Russian legislation, as the main monetary policy indicator.
The Central Bank assigned secondary importance to the refinancing rate in the autumn of 2013, when it said its one-week auction repo rate, then 5.5%, was now the key rate, and that the refinancing rate would be level with this by 2016. Following the Central Bank's decision, the refinancing rate held little significance for the money market. It was used, for example, as a benchmark to calculate fines and is contained in numerous contracts between businesses to calculate state subsidies, etc.
The key rate is currently 11% - it rose a high as 17% in December last year - while the refinancing rate has stayed at 8.25%.
The refinancing rate continues to feature in some official documents.
The Finance Ministry has drafted amendments to the Tax Code where the use of the Bank of Russia key rate instead of the refinancing rate is concerned.
