Raman Halouchanka, chairman of the National Bank of Belarus, said the country’s banking system has mobilised and is exceeding the targets set for it. He made the remarks ahead of a meeting reviewing the results of the first half of the year.
“The targets are traditionally demanding, but I can say with satisfaction that the National Bank and the banking system have fulfilled all the commitments they undertook for the first half of the year. Moreover, they are exceeding expectations across all key objectives. The situation has improved compared with the results of the first quarter. The banking system has mobilised in line with the assigned tasks, and at present we are fully satisfied with the situation. We see positive trends continuing through the end of the year,” he said.
According to Halouchanka, banks issued 1 billion Belarusian rubles in loans for the purchase of Belarusian-made goods during the first six months of the year. Lending for the purchase of domestically produced cars has also been growing rapidly.
The share of bank deposits with maturities of one to three years is also increasing.
“More importantly, however, we are seeing positive developments in an area where we set very cautious targets: attracting deposits with maturities of more than three years. These now account for nearly 5% of household deposits, exceeding our target by a factor of two. This is a positive signal of confidence in the banking system as a whole and in the state’s economic policy,” Halouchanka added.
Banks also issued 3.5 billion Belarusian rubles in investment loans during the first half of the year, more than in the same period last year. To meet the annual target, banks will need to issue another 4 billion Belarusian rubles in such loans by the end of the year. At the same time, Halouchanka acknowledged that investment trends remain mixed.
“Investment in fixed capital has been recovering since May. Growth reached 4.1% in the first half of the year. What is important to note is that the main contribution to this increase in investment continues to come from bank lending. At the same time, we do not regard the declining share of companies’ own funds as a positive development. In other words, the encouraging growth in demand for investment is not yet supported by the underlying financial resilience of businesses. Looking at our key group of enterprises, I consider it a positive sign that they are actively investing in technological modernisation,” he said.
