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Belarusian banks recorded profits of almost 3 billion roubles in January-September. National Bank Chairman Raman Halouchanka made the announcement at a meeting reviewing the performance of the regulator and the banking system over the first nine months of the year.
“Foreign exchange and gold reserves remain close to their historical high, while all the country’s external obligations are being met in full. Public debt and external debt are steadily declining. Accordingly, the key indicators of the banking and payment systems are within safe limits.
The regulatory capital adequacy ratio stands at an acceptable level of 19%. Let me remind you that the threshold is 12.5%. As for the financial performance of the banks themselves, all banks were profitable in the third quarter and over the nine months as a whole. Total profits for January-September amounted to almost 3 billion roubles,” he said.
Halouchanka also noted that the rouble component of broad money supply is growing. It increased by 3 percentage points to 68.2%. Net foreign currency sales are also rising, reaching $1.6 billion in January-September.
The National Bank chief also stressed that bank loans are currently the main source of investment for businesses.
“It is not companies’ own funds or budgetary stimulus, but bank lending that is playing an increasingly important role in financing investment. Accordingly, the resource base formed in this way has also enabled banks to increase their support for the economy.
Banks’ claims on the economy rose by 13%, against a target of 9%. The target for priority lending to effective investment projects run by businesses producing export-oriented and import-substituting goods is being met. Investment financing increased by more than a third, reaching a total of 6.2 billion roubles,” he said.
The share of loans for purchasing Belarusian goods in total consumer lending rose to 20%.
“These fairly positive results in the monetary and credit sector have played an important role in the overall economic situation, supporting gross domestic product growth. Perhaps more importantly, they have also strengthened the external resilience of our country’s economy,” Halouchanka said.