Foreign Currency Loans to Be Issued for the Chosen

The National Bank of Belarus has taken other steps on "de-dollarization" of the economy.

The National Bank tightens approaches to foreign currency lending. According to BelaPAN, Belarusian banks prepare to implement other regulation decisions and will build up reserves of foreign currency loans that are not currency justified. It comes to the fact that loans in foreign currency will be allowed only for chosen clients, observer of Belorusskiye Novosti Dzmitry Zayats writes.

"Regarding foreign currency loans commercial banks will have to assess corporate clients more strictly. In case if currency gain of a client is enough to cover all exchange commitments and loan debts, such loans are considered currency justified," a financial expert told journalists.

As for population the National Bank's approach to currency lending remains unchangeable. It's been eight years already when Belarus does not allow loans in foreign currency to population, and this restriction is unlikely to be lifted in the near future, experts believe.

"There are no grounds for the restriction of loans in foreign currency to be lifted in the near future. On the contrary, we can see clearly the signal of the National Bank aimed at the de-dollarization of everything possible," expert of BEROC Katsyaryna Barnukova says. In addition, the expert notes that devaluation risks still remain.