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Belarus central bank to lower key interest rate from April 1

Xinhua, March 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

The National Bank of Belarus said Wednesday that it will cut its refinancing rate by 1 percentage point to 24 percent from April 1 amid an economic slowdown.

Meanwhile, the obligatory reserves norm has been reduced by 0.5 percentage points to 7.5 percent. The decision is usually aimed at reducing the level of rates, the bank said in a statement.

During the first half of 2016, the National Bank said it will continue a policy aimed at reducing the size of the risk premium in the value of ruble loans, the statement said.

In February 2016, the average interest rate on new loans stood at 33.1 percent in nominal terms, or 20 percent in real terms. Endit