The National Bank of Belarus is settling a problem of foreign currency deficit. According to Interfax, that was reported by First Deputy Chairman of the Board Taras Nadolny. “Planes full of currency are already on the way,” he said.
“We get claims about foreign exchange services are short in foreign currency. We are addressing this issue at the present time, currency was ordered from the foreign banks, there will be more of it,” Nadolny added.
Earlier, on December 19, the National Bank of Belarus started to charge a temporary 30 percent fee on currency purchase operations for companies and individuals. The Head Office explained that companies and banks are going to pay fee when buying currency on the stock exchange, while individuals will be charged in the credit institutions. The collected funds are going to be channeled to the national budget. It is not known for how long the fee will be applied. Besides that, the export-oriented companies are obliged to sell the state half of their foreign currency income. The banks are not recommended to increase the Belarusian ruble loan portfolio and to change the currencies stipulated in the loan agreement.