Russian Banks Raise Key Rates to 20% in Desperate Measure to Save Ruble
The country faces sanctions from the West as the war against Ukraine continues.
Feb 28, 2022 at 8:01 a.m. UTC:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/PGNEIBI2G5ESPHIKRJX4WVGXTI.jpg)
BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 04: Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at the Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 04, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Anthony Wallace/Getty Images)
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.
Russian banks have raised key rates to 20% in a bid to save the ruble as major countries cut off support to Moscow amid its invasion of Ukraine.
- The Russian central bank raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% on Monday in an emergency move. Authorities told export-focused companies to sell foreign currency as the ruble tumbled to record lows.
- The ruble opened 40% lower against U.S. dollars on Monday. Russia's state-owned Sberbank is "failing or likely to fail," the European Central Bank said in a prepared statement.
- Russia has also ordered companies to sell 80% of their foreign currencies, the central bank and the finance ministry said.
- The key rate is the interest rate at which banks can borrow when they fall short of their required reserves.
- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in tensions in Eastern Europe. Global markets slipped last week, and bitcoin plunged as much as 10% in a single day before a slight recovery over the week as the U.S. announced sanctions.
- Meanwhile, Ukraine has raised over $10 million in cryptocurrency donations on an official address to help citizens caught in the crossfire.
UPDATE (Feb. 28, 12:27 UTC): Corrects headline to say "Russian Banks fixes key rates to 20%."
DISCLOSURE
Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.
The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.
:format(webp)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/coindesk/6c6bb5af-692c-4fcf-9f8b-a75d0549effd.png)
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.
Learn more about Consensus 2023, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.
Shaurya is the Co-Leader of the CoinDesk tokens and data team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/FZIBFSNNPJEQ5MGNQS6DZF3XUE.jpg)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/BXWQXGXEVVDEREGHB24YHGLNLI.jpg)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/4HAHFYNWGZFBRL2AQN6I3KWXTI.jpg)
:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/coindesk/3LVJ335VWVFJFA34THBXFTMHAE.jpg)