Central Bank of Russia

Central Bank of Russia
Банк России
Bank Rossii

Central Bank of Russia logo Headquarters
Headquarters	12 Neglinnaya str., Moscow, Russian Federation
Established	1860
Chairwoman	Elvira Nabiullina
Currency	Ruble RUB (ISO 4217)
Reserves	$370.2 B, As of 25 December 2015
Bank rate	11%
Website	Official website

The Bank of Russia (Russian: Банк России) is the central bank of the Russian Federation, founded in 1860, headquartered on Neglinnaya Street in Moscow. Its functions are described in the Russian constitution (Article 75) and in the special Federal Law.

History

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) was established July 13, 1990 as a result of the transformation of the Russian Republican Bank of the State Bank of the USSR. It was accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. On December 2, 1990 the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR passed the Law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), according to which the Bank of Russia has become a legal entity, the main bank of the RSFSR and was accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. In June 1991, the charter was adopted by the Bank of Russia. On December 20, 1991 the State Bank of the USSR was abolished and all its assets, liabilities and property in the RSFSR were transferred to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), which was then renamed to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia). Since 1992, the Bank of Russia began to buy and sell foreign currency on the foreign exchange market created by it, establish and publish the official exchange rates of foreign currencies against the ruble.

Role and duties

The Bank of Russia was founded on July 13th, 1990. According to the constitution, it is an independent entity, with the primary responsibility of protecting the stability of the national currency, the ruble.

It is the main regulator of the Russian banking industry, responsible for banking licenses, rules of banking operations and accounting standards, serving as a lender of last resort for credit organizations.

It holds the exclusive right to issue ruble banknotes and coins through the Moscow and St. Petersburg mints, the Goznak mint. The central bank issues commemorative coins made of precious and non precious metals as well as investment ones made of precious metals, which are distributed inside and outside the country. In 2010 in honor of its 150th anniversary it issued a 5-kilo commemorative gold coin Alexander II.

Under Russian law, half of the bank's profit must be channeled into the government's federal budget. The Central Bank of Russia is a member of the BIS.

The Bank of Russia owns a 57.58% stake in Sberbank, the country's leading commercial bank.

Chairmen

Name	Year
Georgy Matyukhin	1990—1992
Viktor Gerashchenko	1992—1994
Tatiana Paramonova	1994—1995
Alexander Khandruyev	November 8 to 22, 1995
Sergei Dubinin	1995—1998
Viktor Gerashchenko	1998—2002
Sergei Ignatyev	2002—2013
Elvira Nabiullina	2013–present

Politics

In December 2014, amidst falling global oil prices, Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, capital flight, and fears of recession, the bank had increased the one-week minimum auction repo rate up by 6.5 points to 17 percent. This caused a run on the rouble, and on January 29, the bank decreased the rate by two points to 15 percent.

In January 2015, the head of monetary policy, Ksenia Yudayeva, a proponent of strict anti-inflation policy, was replaced by Dmitry Tulin, who is "seen as more acceptable to bankers, who have called for lower interest rates".

See also

• Bank for International Settlements
• Banking in Russia
• Economy of Russia
• Goznak
• Andrey Kozlov
• Payment system
• Real-time gross settlement

External links

• Bank of Russia (Russian) (English)