Page 7 - RusRPTDec18

Russia’s trade position is looking very healthy. After nearly falling into a trade deficit last year, this year the government is on course to run a record $113bn trade surplus this year. The equation is lifted on one side by the higher than expected oil prices, but on the other imports have been unexpectedly low, partly depressed by the fall in the value of the ruble making foreign goods more expensive.
Finally in the banking sector the number of banks fell to below 500 for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The CBR has been methodically closing 100 banks a year since CBR governor Elvira Nabiullina took over the helm in 2013 and the clean up of the bank sector is now in its final stage. The unofficial target is to have a total of some 300 banks and the CBR continues to introduce tougher and more prudent regulation for the section. In the next round of changes the CBR intends to impose the Basel III rules that will require banks to hold larger provisions on loans.
7 RUSSIA Country Report December 2018 www.intellinews.com