Putin calls for lower bank lending rates

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday called for lower bank lending rates to the real economy, just a day after a hike in the central bank's deposit rates came into effect. "Loan rates, especially for the real economy, should not restrain growth," Putin said on a visit to Russia's second largest lender, state-controlled VTB, where he heads the supervisory board.
"We understand this and I hope will work together with the central bank in order to gradually reduce lending rates." The central bank, in the name of the state, controls VTB's bigger rival, Sberbank. Russia's central bank, worried by surging inflation, took the first step towards monetary tightening this month, with a 25 basis point hike in deposit rates which came into effect on Monday. It said that, given the high levels of liquidity, it did not expect the hike to have a negative impact on lending conditions. Average lending rates for non-financial organisations edged up to 9.2 percent in November from a post-Soviet low of 8.9 percent the previous month, according to central bank data.