Russia to let banks cut back reporting results amid sanctions

[MOSCOW] Russia's central bank announced on Sunday (Mar 6) it was allowing lenders in the country to reduce the frequency of their financial disclosures, a measure it said was necessary to mitigate sanctions fallout.

Moscow has been hit with a damaging package of financial and cultural penalties by Western countries in the wake of Russia's military incursion into Ukraine.

The central bank in recent days has taken unprecedented measures, including capital controls, to shore up the struggling economy and the rouble.

"The Bank of Russia decided to temporarily reduce the volume of publication of financial statements of credit institutions," it said in a statement on its site. "This was done to limit the risks of credit institutions associated with the sanctions imposed by Western countries."

It added, however, that financial institutions would still be required to submit reports to it, a step it said would "make it possible to fully exercise effective supervision over their activities and analyse the sector".

The EU has cut 7 Russian banks from the Swift payment system as part of Western-coordinated sanctions on Russia for its operation in Ukraine.

The tanking rouble revived unpleasant memories of financial instability of the 1990s, when millions of Russians saw their savings evaporate under the effect of a devaluating currency and soaring inflation. AFP