Three commemorative coins of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus became winners or prize-winners in international numismatic competitions in 2007, EG was informed in the information department of the main bank of the country.In the prestigious competition, the organizer…
Three commemorative coins of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus became winners or prize-winners in international numismatic competitions in 2007, EG was informed by the information department of the main bank of the country.
In the prestigious competition organized by the famous American publishing house Krause Publications, the commemorative coin “Vyalikdzen” won in the nomination “Coin with the best artistic solution” (artist – Svetlana Vaskevitch).
For the first time this year, a Belarusian coin was presented at an international competition in Vicenza (Italy).
And immediately “A Thousand and Hell Nights” (artist – Svetlana Nekrasov) won second place and the “International Numismatic Prize of Vicenza” – “for an impressive combination of characteristic elements of oriental tales on the reverse and romantic expressiveness on the obverse of the coin.” 39 coins from 16 countries competed in this competition.
The first contest of coins of the CIS and Baltic countries “Coin Constellation-2007” also ended successfully for Belarus. Out of 47 coins put into circulation by the central (national) banks of the CIS and Baltic countries in 2006, our Sokal-Padarozhnik (artist Svetlana Nekrasov) won the Gold Coin of the Year nomination.
Over the 10 years that have passed since the appearance of the first coin of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, 90 items of commemorative coins have been put into circulation. In 2005, Belarusian coins (“Belarusian Ballet”, “Narochansky National Park”, “Mute Swan”) received the status of the best coins in the world for the first time in national history.
Corporate lending revives, but interest rates remain high
In 2021, bank lending to enterprises slowed down, and the volume of newly issued loans did not exceed the collected payments on loans granted earlier. However, the increase in rates outlined in 2022 opened the way for an increase in the lending activity of banks.
CREDIT INCENTIVES IN ACTION
The total volume of loans issued by banks to legal entities in national and foreign currencies from January to May 2022 amounted to 38,287 million rubles, which is 4,303 million rubles, or 12.7%, more than in the same period last year. At the same time.
if last year the volume of credit debt decreased throughout the year, then in the current year it has begun to grow again. This means that the volume of loans issued by banks began to exceed the volume of credit debt repaid by enterprises, i.e. banks began to give the economy more money than they receive in the form of loan payments.
So, if as of June 1, 2021, the total amount of credit debt was 746 million rubles. less than at the beginning of the year, then for 5 months of 2022 the loan debt increased by 1,719 million rubles. This suggests that in 2022 Belarusian banks began to lend more actively to the national economy.
According to statistics by types of economic activity, the main borrowers among legal entities are still manufacturing enterprises, as well as wholesale and retail trade, which together account for 83% of all loans provided by banks to Belarusian enterprises. At the same time, 11,959 million rubles. (36.4% of total loans) fall on small and medium enterprises, the rest are issued to large enterprises.
MORE IN RUB AND FOR A SHORT TERM
In terms of currencies, the most popular type of financing was loans in the national currency, the share of which exceeded 57.6% (22,067 million rubles). This is evidence that Belarusian enterprises have begun to take borrowed capital in Belarusian rubles more often.
although a year ago more than half of the loans issued were in foreign currency. Then, due to lower interest rates, foreign currency loans seemed more attractive, but time has shown that the main risk of foreign exchange liabilities is exchange rate differences, which can significantly increase the final cost of financing, thereby posing a threat to the financial stability of an enterprise.
Belarusian enterprises, taught by bitter experience, began to lend more often in rubles, albeit at higher rates, but without unpleasant surprises in the form of hard-to-predict exchange rate differences.
The gradual phasing out of lending in foreign currency is clearly visible in the decrease in the volume of loans issued in monetary units other than the Belarusian ruble. Thus, as of June 1, 2022, banks provided loans to enterprises for a total of USD 1,267 million against USD 2,330 million a year ago.
EUR 1,997 million against EUR 2,653 million a year ago, RUR 199 billion against RUR 111.4 billion a year ago. As we can see, the volume of loans issued in US dollars and euros has decreased, but the provision of financing in Russian rubles, on the contrary, is booming, having increased by almost 80% over the past year.
There are no special changes in terms of lending – banks still issue mainly “short” loans. 34,335 out of 38,287 million rubles, or 89.7%, are “short” loans issued for a period not exceeding 12 months. The volume of long-term loans (with a maturity of more than 1 year) as of June 1, 2022 amounted to 3,952 million rubles, which is 15% less than a year ago. As you can see, Belarusian banks still prefer to keep clients short in order to be able to change the terms of loans in accordance with the current market situation.
INTEREST RATES GO TO THE SKY
The statistics on granted loans shows well how the rates on newly issued loans have changed. If in January the average rates on loans to legal entities in Belarusian rubles were 13.22%, then in May – 19.19% per annum. At the same time.
depending on the type of activity, the rates on such loans in May ranged from 11.44% (energy) to 22.7% (mining). Average rates on loans in US dollars and euros increased from 6.28–6.63% to 7.95–8.98% per annum over 5 months, and for certain types of activities exceeded 10% per annum. Average rates on loans in Russian rubles increased from 12.13% in January to 21.04% in June.
