VTB Bank CEO expects cbank’s key rate at below 7% in 2018

DAVOS, Jan 24 (PRIME) -- The key rate of Russia’s central bank may contract to 6–6.75% annually until the end of 2018, Andrei Kostin, CEO of the country’s second largest bank VTB, told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“If we look at the previous stories and inflation dynamics, I think that further contraction to the level of 6% or 6% plus quarters (of a percentage point) is fairly possible,” he said.

In 2017, the regulator reduced the rate six times to 7.75% annually. The authority sees the equilibrium key rate at 6.5–7%, and expects to reach it in 2019.

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