Push to Use National Currencies in SCO Cannot Be Stopped, Russia’s Lavrov Says

Efforts to transition to trade in national currencies in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) can no longer be stopped, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. During a meeting with his colleagues in India, Moscow’s top diplomat also discussed the similar initiative within BRICS. Sergey Lavrov Convinced SCO Countries Will Switch to National Currencies, Won’t … Read more

Russia Projected to Start Purchasing Chinese Yuan for Its Foreign Reserves as Soon as May

Russia will start to purchase Chinese yuan for its international reserves as soon as this month, according to reports from Russian economists. While analysts state that the purchases will be small and symbolic in the beginning, these will supposedly demonstrate a turnaround in the economy of the country. Russia to Purchase Chinese Yuan for Reserves … Read more

Russian Banks Set for Record Profits This Year, Central Bank, Rating Agency Say

Bank of Russia raised its forecast for the profits of Russian banks in 2023, expecting results that may break the 2021 record. This year’s high numbers are coming after 2022 became the worst annual period in seven years for the sanctioned Russian banking sector in terms of financial outcome. Banks in Russian Federation Headed for … Read more

Russia Monitoring US Economy Amid Possible Default, Says Official

Russia is closely monitoring the U.S. economy amid discussions of the U.S. government defaulting on its debt obligations. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the Treasury will be unable to pay the government’s bills if Congress does not act by June 1. Russia Monitoring US Economy in Case of Debt Default Russia is closely monitoring the … Read more

India, Russia Mull Payment System Integration in Face of US Sanctions

The governments of India and Russia are considering integrating part of their payment systems, in order to counter the possible future effect of US sanctions on the capital flows of each country. The deal would include the integration of India’s Rupay card system and its Russian counterpart, Mir Cards, to allow seamless payments between the … Read more

Top Indian Banker Says US Dollar Has ‘Disproportionate Power’ as Reserve Currency; Retracts ‘Biggest Financial Terrorist’ Remark

Uday Kotak, the CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, a financial institution based in India, recently expressed his view on the dominance of the U.S. dollar in global financial markets. Kotak stated that the U.S. dollar has “disproportionate power” as a reserve currency, retracting his previous statement in which he referred to the currency as the … Read more

BRICS to Promote National Currencies Before Issuing Common One

The BRICS bloc is now focused on expanding the use of the currencies of its members, according to the representative of one of them. The establishment of a single currency for the group is not an immediate task at this point in time, the diplomat indicated in an interview. Wider Use of National Fiats of … Read more

‘Evil Crypto’ Can Be Used in Foreign Trade, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Says

Cryptocurrency may be bad for investors but it can be useful in international settlements, according to a top government official in Moscow. Russian authorities intend to set up a special committee that would issue permits to operators employing crypto in foreign trade transactions, he indicated. Russia Plans to ‘Experiment’ With Cross-Border Crypto Payments Amid Sanctions … Read more

No Rate Hikes in Russia, Central Bank Keeps Interest Rate Level Again

Bank of Russia decided to maintain the interest rate at 7.5% amid moderate inflation, estimated at 2.5% on an annual basis in April, although this may change later this year. The monetary authority improved its forecast for the Russian economy and now expects growth entirely in positive figures, up to 2.0% for 2023. Bank of … Read more