Russia will delay a proposed increase in the minimum capital requirement for banks to 1 billion rubles ($33.5 million) because of continued “tension” in the banking industry, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said.
The limit won’t be raised “until we see stability in the international financial sector,” Kudrin told reporters late yesterday in Washington, where he’s taking part in the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting. “It’s necessary to increase capital requirements but it’s too early to introduce this proposal because of the remaining tension in the sector.”
Increasing minimum capital to 1 billion rubles would spur consolidation and could cut the number of banks by 50 per cent to about 500, Kudrin said November 25, adding that he was prepared to introduce the measure in a year.
The new capital buffers will go into effect five years after the measure is approved, Kudrin said.
The minimum capital level is already scheduled to rise to 180 million rubles on January 1, 2012, from 90 million rubles today. Russia had 1,036 lenders on September 1, down from 1,058 at the start of the year, central bank data show.
Russia needs $60 oil for stable recovery
Russia needs oil to average more than $60 a barrel next year to ensure a sustained recovery from its record slump in 2009, Kudrin said. That’s 21 per cent less than this year’s average price.
Russia, the world’s biggest energy exporter, and other emerging markets face a better outlook and less uncertainty than developed economies, Kudrin told reporters late yesterday in Washington, where he’s taking part in the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting.