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Siluanov cautious about idea of using money from National Welfare Fund

On Thursday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed the government within one month to study risks of using money stored at the National Welfare Fund

MOSCOW, October 4 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov says he is cautious about the idea of using money from the National Welfare Fund to disburse loans for small and medium business.

“I am very cautious about this idea,” he told reporters on Friday.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev instructed the government within one month to study risks of using money stored at the National Welfare Fund for loans to such enterprises. “If these risks are exorbitant, we will not do this, if they are acceptable, we will act this way,” he said.

The Economic Development Ministry proposes to use money of the National Welfare Fund to issue loans through VTB Bank to commercial banks that will extend loans to business, Siluanov said. “It would be much easier to bring commercial banks’ securitized loans due for small business to the Central Bank and to get financing from there,” he said, recalling that he met bankers financing small business on Thursday. “They are quite satisfied with such instruments and it would be much better to do this than to use money stored at the National Welfare Fund.”

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