Russian Central Bank from June 1 to raise required reserves in rubles to 4.5%, in 'unfriendly' currencies to 8.5%

MOSCOW. May 23 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) from June 1, 2023, plans to raise the required reserve ratios in rubles and "friendly" currencies by 0.5 percentage points, as well as in "unfriendly" currencies by 1 pp, the CBR said in a statement.

The regulator has taken the decision by accounting for the dynamics of the structural liquidity surplus, as well as in order to maintain the trend toward devaluation of the balance sheets of credit institutions, the CBR said.

Consequently, beginning on June 1, the ratios for all categories of reservable liabilities in the currency of the Russian Federation for banks with universal licenses and for non-bank credit institutions will be 4.5%; the ratios for all credit institutions in the currencies of "unfriendly" countries will be 8.5%; and the ratios in other currencies will be 6%.

The required reserve ratios in rubles for banks with basic licenses remain unchanged at 1%.

The new ratios will be applied as from the regulation on the amount of required reserves for June 2023.

As reported previously, as of March 1, 2023, the ratios for all categories of reservable liabilities in rubles for banks with universal licenses and non-bank credit institutions have risen by 1 pp to 4%, and the ratios for liabilities in foreign currency for all credit institutions have increased by 2 pp to 7%.

The CBR, as of April 1, 2023, has differentiated the required reserve ratios depending on the type of currency. The ratios for the currencies of "unfriendly" countries have increased to 7.5%, while those of "friendly" ones have decreased to 5.5%.