March 29, 2011, National Bank of Belarus has sent a recommendation letter to the Belarusian banks about setting foreign exchange rates. National Bank offers banks to keep to the exchange rate, only 10% deviating from the official one, in purchase-sale transactions of foreign currency between banks and business entities. Earlier, National Bank allowed only 2% deviation from the official rate.
The management of the National Bank has explained that these measures will give banks more opportunities to meet the demand of the Belarusian enterprises in foreign currency and raise the interest of exporters to sell their foreign exchange earnings. In addition, the National Bank believes that it will also create conditions for increasing state reserves, leading in the long term to the country’s external balance.
The National Bank notes that work on improvement of Belarus’s internal currency market functioning has been underway since the beginning of 2011. The National Bank make the main emphasis in the development of this market on its OTC segment, which can be redistributed up to 70% of funds in foreign currency (coming to the accounts of companies from exporting goods and services).
«OTC foreign exchange market should be soon the most liquid and capacious part of the domestic currency market where demand of enterprises for foreign currency will be met by banks under market principles promptly and in full,» said the National Bank.
