Page 24 - bne IntelliNews Newspaper 280417

Weekly Lists
April 28, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 24
bne:Credit Russia's FX/gold
reserves reach $400bn mark
The foreign currency and gold reserves of the Central Bank of Rus- sia (CBR) went up by $1.6bn on the week ending April 14, reaching the $400bn mark, according to data published by the regulator on April 27.
The reserves gained almost $7bn month-on-month to $397.33bn as of March 1, 2017. After scaling back in the last months of 2016, the reserves bounced back in the beginning of the year towards the $400bn threshold.
As bne IntelliNews reported on Russia's capital flight and reserves, the Fx/gold reserves at current levels are equivalent to about 24 months of import cover or some 75% of Russia’s entire external debt. Russia's foreign reserves lost more than a third from their 2008 peak of $596.5bn amid low oil prices and Western sanctions imposed in 2014. The decline was halted by the CBR's decision to free float the ruble exchange rate in November 2014.
The Czech economy and banks face various risks from the removal of the cap on the koruna, but they remain manageable, Moody’s Investors Service suggests in a report released on April 26.
The Czech National Bank scrapped its limit of CZK27 to the euro
on April 6. While exports could be adversely affected, the rating agency notes, favourable conditions in the Eurozone are seen acting as a buffer for growth. Meanwhile, while lenders can look forward to continued strong demand for loans, they are also likely to suffer some drawbacks in riskier lending segments and government debt holdings, and see capitalisation levels inch lower.
Moody’s expects real GDP growth to accelerate to 2.7% in 2017 from 2.3% in 2016 on the back of strong private consumption and a new cycle of European Union-funded investment. Economic expan- sion is then forecast to moderate to 2.4% in 2018.
Slovakia's GDP growth is expected to slow by 0.1pp compared to last year to 3.2% in 2017, local banks reiterated in their latest amalgamat- ed forecast, the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) reported on April 25.
The reading of 3.3% for 2016 was accurately forecast by the lenders from the start of the fourth quarter, when they dropped their target by 0.1pp. The downgrade came despite better-than-expected GDP growth in the second and third quarters, likely on the back of the weakening performance in the industrial sector and a drop in in- vestment as the year progressed.The $5.5bn IMF deal was reached in February.
Czech economy
and banks face “manageable” risks from CZKexit, says Moody’s
Slovak analysts
shrug off strong first quarter to stick to 3.2% forecast for 2017 growth