MINSK, December 30. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday he was against dollarization of the country’s economy.
Introducing the new governor of the National Bank, Pavel Kallaur, the president set a task of building up confidence in the national currency. “It means reducing dollarization of the economy. But not by means of artificial bans. We need real, efficient measures that will yield concrete results in growth of deposits and credits in the national currency,” he said.
Lukashenko stressed that people should have a possibility to safely keep their savings in Belarusian rubles, but not in foreign currencies. Moreover, people’s savings must be guaranteed by the state, he stressed. “Having received their salaries, people should not rush to exchange offices and shops to get rid of rubles,” he said.
The Belarusian president noted that the National Bank had managed to somewhat stabilize the situation on the country’s financial market and called on the National Bank to work proactively in issues of exchange rate formation.
Lukashenko stressed the importance of a stable exchange rate of the national currency to external shocks. “To be less dependent on other currencies, our national currency should be secured by the national wealth, the country’s currency and gold reserves,” he said, adding that the task was to augment the country’s reserves and improve the payment balance.
He stressed there should be no more destabilization of the economic and financial situation. “There should be no more such things in the country. We must be able to come out of any, even the most difficult, situations,” he said.
Lukashenko places responsibility for Belarus’ banking system on National Bank
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has vested the National Bank with serious competences to ensure normal functioning of the country’s banking system.
“You must administer all banks in the country the way you think proper in the name of solving the tasks facing the National Bank,” Lukasheno said on Tuesday, introducing the new governor of the National Bank, Pavel Kallaur.
“The National Bank will no longer be a regulator of no one knows what, because commercial banks depend on no one, they are independent, they cannot be dictated or instructed,” Lukashenko said. “It’s high time to stop playing democracy. The country should have no more shocks and state interests must prevail over corporate interests.”
“And should anyone not accept these rules, you are free to take measures. You have all the tools - just use them. It means, you shouldn’t work with such executives,” he noted, adding that Belarus’ entire banking system was the system of the National Bank. “If you lack any competences, come out with our proposals. You can have them right tomorrow, on the last day of the year.”
At the same time, he stressed that the National Bank was responsible for the functioning of the banking system institutions. The governor of the national bank, Lukashenko stressed, was personally responsible for the efficient use of bank credits. “Credits should be extended only to vitally important projects, to actual business plans. If this condition is not observed, it means that a bank take excessive risks. This is the way it should be. So, you should enhance banking control,” Lukashenko underscored.
Also, he said he was against dollarization of the country’s economy. The president set a task of building up confidence in the national currency. “It means reducing dollarization of the economy. But not by means of artificial bans. We need real, efficient measures that will yield concrete results in growth of deposits and credits in the national currency,” he said.
Lukashenko stressed that people should have a possibility to safely keep their savings in Belarusian roubles, but not in foreign currencies. Moreover, people’s savings must be guaranteed by the state, he stressed. “Having received their salaries, people should not rush to exchange offices and shops to get rid of roubles,” he said.
The Belarusian president noted that the National Bank had managed to somewhat stabilize the situation on the country’s financial market and called on the National Bank to work proactively in issues of exchange rate formation.
Lukashenko stressed the importance of a stable exchange rate of the national currency to external shocks. “To be less dependent on other currencies, our national currency should be secured by the national wealth, the country’s currency and gold reserves,” he said, adding that the task was to augment the country’s reserves and improve the payment balance.
He stressed there should be no more destabilization of the economic and financial situation. “There should be no more such things in the country. We must be able to come out of any, even the most difficult, situations,” he said.