Ruble coins and billsMOSCOW, Feb 22Russian banks have a sufficient supply of foreign exchange liquidity, so there is no point in withdrawing foreign currency from deposits, Pavel Shust, executive director of the Association of Electronic Money Market Participants and Money Transfers, shared his opinion with RIA Novosti. foreign currency deposits — banks have a reserve of foreign currency, so there should not be a shortage of it. I think it’s already irrational to buy foreign currency now: the ruble exchange rate is likely to be quite volatile, so there is a risk of losing funds on the difference in rates, «the expert believes. According to the latest data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Russian banks imported $4.97 billion worth of foreign currency into the country in December, the highest figure since March last year ($6 billion). Compared to November ($2.16 billion), the figure increased by almost 2.3 times. Positive dynamics was shown by both US dollars (their import grew by almost 77% over the month) and the euro (import increased by almost five times). vs. 1.47 billion in November, down 12%.The expert announced the ability of Russian banks to withstand new risksThe weighted average dollar/ruble exchange rate by settlements «tomorrow» at the single trading session (UTS) of the Moscow Exchange, at which the official rate of the Central Bank is set, increased by 3.6523 rubles at 11.30 Moscow time on Tuesday, amounting to 80.4194 rubles , according to stock exchange data. On Monday, the weighted average rate of the dollar was 76.7671 rubles per dollar. This is happening against the backdrop of geopolitical news. Russian President Vladimir Putin, after an extraordinary large meeting of the Security Council, addressed the citizens of the Russian Federation the day before and said that he considers it necessary to make a decision to immediately recognize the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. US President Joe Biden then issued a decree on the first sanctions for this and is going to announce additional measures today. A number of foreign states, including Britain, Japan, Australia and the EU, have also announced their intention to impose sanctions or discuss possible sanctions against Russia. The expert suggested the reaction of the Central Bank in the event of the imposition of sanctions against RussiaPublished: Vladimir Lavrentiev
