MOSCOW, April 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s financial sector is reliable and under control, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with finance officials Tuesday.
“We are in a very uneasy situation indeed, that’s why we need to make some allowances … but they are not supposed to be fundamental. On the whole, we think the situation of the financial system of our country is absolutely reliable and under control,” Medvedev said.
Stress tests released by the Russian Central Bank earlier this month showed the country’s banking sector could likely handle even the most extreme economic stress.
The regulator stress tests banks twice a year based on two scenarios. The pessimistic scenario assumes a 1.2 percent contraction in GDP and 20 percent devaluation of the ruble, against the backdrop of a general global economic slowdown, including a 25-30 percent decrease in oil prices. The extreme scenario assumes a five percent contraction of GDP and a 30 percent devaluation of the ruble.
The fate of Crimea, formerly an autonomous republic within Ukraine and Russia’s newest region since last month, has sparked the greatest geopolitical showdown between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.
Dozens of Russian officials and several banks have been hit by punitive sanctions levied by Washington and Brussels in response to the reunification of Crimea with Russia.