Russian central bank considers further relaxation of banking sector regulation

[MOSCOW] The Russian central bank is considering further relaxing regulation of the banking sector to ease burden on banks pressured by Western sanctions and an economic slowdown, a first deputy governor of the central bank said on Tuesday.

Alexei Simanovsky, the first deputy governor, told journalists that the bank was considering temporarily relaxing rules affecting how banks calculate the risks associated with certain consumer loans with high interest rates.

Russian banks' cost of financing and loan-loss provisioning jumped last year, hurting their profits and eroding their capital as their access to Western markets is restricted due to sanctions linked to the Ukraine crisis.

REUTERS