Fundamentals of central banks in brief. Central banks and the basics of their activities

In the process of evolution of capitalist relations, there was no clear distinction between central (emission) and commercial banks. The latter widely practiced issuing banknotes as one of the sources of capital mobilization. With the development of the credit system, the process of centralization of banknote emission took place in a few large commercial banks, as a result of which the monopoly right to issue banknotes was assigned to one bank. Such a bank was called an issuing or national, and later - the central bank (CB), which corresponded to its position in credit system.

The first central bank was the Riksbank, the Central Bank of Sweden, founded in 1668. In 1694, the Bank of England arose when the English government needed a large loan to wage war with France, for which several London merchants united into one private joint-stock bank. For the service rendered to the government, they received the exclusive right to issue banknotes that were freely exchanged for gold. The banknotes issued by them became a common means of payment and entered the payment circulation in England. The Royal Charter of 1694 assigned to the Bank of England the role of the central bank and the principles of its functioning. Legislative regulation was established by the Robert Peel Act in 1844.

Depending on the type of ownership of capital, central banks are divided into state, joint-stock and mixed. Separate central banks were initially created as state banks. For example, the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), established in 1957, its predecessor is the Reichsbank (1875), established in 1990. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), its predecessor is National Bank(1860).

The process of nationalization of central banks, which previously had the status of joint-stock banks, was greatly developed in the era of state-monopoly capitalism. Nationalization of joint-stock banks accelerated economic crisis 1929-1933 and Second World War that strengthened the tendencies of the state-monopoly development of the economy. In 1938, the State Bank of Canada was formed, in 1942 - the Bank of Japan, in 1946 - the Bank of England and the Bank of France.

The most famous joint-stock central bank is the US Federal Reserve, established by the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. The capital of the Federal Reserve Banks is formed from shares of private commercial banks that have become members of the Federal Reserve. Despite the fact that the Fed is formed on a shareholder basis, it is one of the most important public institutions whose leadership is appointed by the president of the country.

Banks, in whose capital the private sector participates together with the state, are classified as mixed central banks. Among them, one can single out the Bank of Japan, founded in 1882. According to the law of 1942, only 55% of its authorized capital belongs to the state. The state also owns 50% of the National Bank of Belgium.

At present, in almost all countries, credit systems are headed by central bank although there are exceptions to published practice. Thus, in some countries there are no central banks, and issuing functions are performed by specially created institutions, for example, the Office monetary circulation(Currency Board) in Singapore, the Foreign Exchange Agency in Saudi Arabia. There is a practice of functioning of the central bank acting as the emission center of several states. For example, the Bank of Central African States performs the functions of a central bank simultaneously in five African countries: Gabon, Cameroon, Congo, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, each of which has its own branch.

IN modern state the central bank is a key element of its financial and credit system. He acts as a conductor of official monetary credit policy. Monetary policy along with budgetary policy is the basis state regulation economy.

Historically, central banks were formed as joint stock companies with special powers. The term "central bank" meant the largest bank, which constituted the core banking system. Subsequently, central banks monopolized certain functions. And then the states nationalized the central banks (in this case, the shareholding status could be preserved, as, for example, with the Bank of Italy or National Bank Australia).

The capital of the central bank is usually owned by the state, but commercial banks and others can be shareholders financial institutions. Compared to commercial banks, central banks do not differ in the scale of their capitals, operations and balance sheets, since their functions and methods of influencing the banking system have been modified. At the same time, their essence as banks has not changed and consists in mediation between the state and the rest of the economy, in the regulation of credit flows.

The Central Bank is accountable to Parliament or a special parliamentary commission. Its manager is not part of the government. The appointment of a central bank governor can be made by the monarch, president, parliament, but the government, based on a parliamentary majority, has the right to nominate its candidacy. In some countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway) the tenure of the top management of the central bank in office is not limited. In other states, he is appointed for a long period, for example, for 7 years - in Ireland, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, 8 years - in Germany.

The independence of the central bank determines its role in the economic and political processes in the country. Economic independence implies the ability of the central bank to use the institutions at its disposal without significant restrictions. His political independence determined by the level of independence in relations with authorities government controlled in the choice and implementation of monetary policy.

The criterion of independence of central banks in dealing with monetary policy issues, taking into account various objective and subjective factors, determines their classification.

TO subjective factors include the existing relationship between the country's central bank and the government, taking into account informal contacts between leaders.

TO objective factors assessments of the independence of central banks include:

  • participation of the state in the capital of the central bank and the distribution of profits;
  • the procedure for appointing (selecting) the bank's management;
  • the degree of reflection in the legislation of the goals and objectives of the central bank;
  • the right of the state to intervene in monetary policy;
  • rules governing the possibility of direct and indirect financing public spending the country's central bank.

The first objective factor in the assessment when conducting monetary policy does not significantly affect the independence of the central bank. The second factor that determines the procedure for selecting (appointing) and recalling the leadership of the central bank affects the degree of its political independence from government bodies. The third - defines the legislative framework for the freedom of the central bank.

In the legislation of a number of countries, only a general formulation of the tasks of the central bank is given, which is not essential for determining the degree of its independence. Establishing by law the goals and objectives of the central bank plays a secondary role in determining the degree of its independence.

The fourth factor, which establishes the right of the state to intervene in monetary policy, has a decisive influence on the political independence of the central bank.

The fifth factor in the independence of the central bank involves the legislative restriction of lending to the government and affects both its economic and political independence. It matters only if there is a system of direct financing of governments by the central bank. This system operates in most developed countries.

The Central Bank in any state occupies a special place in the credit and financial system. Unlike commercial banks and other credit organizations, the central bank is a government agency responsible for the amount of money supply and loans provided to the economy as a whole. The emergence of central banks dates back to the middle of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century, since it was during this period that the governments of most countries legally assign control over the issue of money into circulation to certain banks. The institution of the central bank was formed gradually and went through a rather long period of evolution.

It is difficult to say where and when the first central bank appeared. Some economists consider the beginning of the date of creation of the bank, which later began to perform the functions of the central bank. In accordance with this criterion, the first central bank was the Riksbank - the Bank of Sweden, founded in 1668. The Bank of England was formed in 1694, the Bank of France - in 1800.

The importance of the central bank lies in the fact that it is responsible for conducting monetary policy and the stability of the banking system as a whole. From this point of view, the time frame for the emergence and formation of central banks is shifted to a later date. For example, the Bank of France becomes responsible for conducting monetary policy only in 1945, after its nationalization. Much earlier, the functions of the central bank began to be performed by the Bank of England, remaining joint stock bank. Nationalization in 1946 gave him broad powers to control the activities of other banks. As a rule, European central banks for a fairly long period of time until the 1940s. simultaneously performed the functions of ordinary banks, opening accounts for private clients, crediting the issue valuable papers by providing others Banking services commercial and industrial companies and individuals. In the course of evolution, their commercial activity gradually declined. Unlike Europeans, a peculiar US central bank in the form of the Federal Reserve System was created in 1913 specifically to perform general economic functions.

There is a tradition of considering the features of the national central bank in comparison with the Bank of England, which serves as a kind of standard. The formation of the institution of the central bank in England had a rather noticeable impact on the creation of central banks in other countries. Moreover, it is believed that the foundations of monetary theory were laid by economists who discussed the problems of English banking and monetary policy. Therefore, without detracting from the experience of the countries of continental Europe and the United States, which in many ways turns out to be more interesting, we will use the same logic, especially since a look at the English model can be useful for understanding the role that central banks play in modern financial systems.

If in 1900 central banks existed in 18 countries (in total there were 30 independent states in the world), then in 2000 - in more than 170 countries. Despite the historical and economic features, the role of central banks various countries essentially corresponds to the classical English model, although a slightly different terminology is adopted. The Central Bank performs the functions of the state body for conducting monetary policy, the bank of banks and the bank of the government. However, it's not just terminology. In the course of evolution, the functions of the central bank did not remain unchanged. In the past, the essence of monetary control was to supply the economy with money. The central bank had to give elasticity to money and bank reserves, i.e. change the money supply in response to changes in the demand for money from real sector economy. Currently, the central bank is seen as the institution responsible for designing and implementing monetary policy, changing the money supply to achieve economic goals, such as the economic growth, price stability and curbing inflation.

The function of the bank of banks is wider than the lender of last resort in a critical situation. Banks conduct payments and settlements through correspondent accounts opened with the central bank. Settlement network central bank is not the only way to conduct cashless payments. Nevertheless, by regulating the process of making payments and supervising banks, the central bank ensures the normal operation and guarantees the stability of the financial system.

The role of the central bank as the government's bank has also changed. Historically, since their inception, central banks have attracted resources to lend to government spending. The state received share premium due to the exclusive, monopoly right of the central bank to create money, as well as profit from commercial activities jar. At present, there is little central bank lending to governments. In many countries, including Russia, there are legislative restrictions on the right of the central bank to provide loans to the government for financing budget deficit, purchase government securities at their initial placement, as well as conduct banking operations with persons who are not banking organizations. The issuing activity of a central bank is more determined by the objectives of monetary policy than by considerations of seigniorage. Central banks perform mainly the tasks of the so-called fiscal agent of the state, i.e. they maintain the accounts of the treasury and manage the public debt.

One of the key policy questions is to what extent the responsibility for all three functions should lie with a single institution. In 1995, an exhaustive analysis of the arguments for and against the separation of the functions of monetary policy and banking supervision was carried out and no convincing arguments were found in favor of one model or another, consistent with the fact that about half of the 27 countries studied separated these functions. between various government institutions, making the central bank only responsible for price stability, while the other half united.

The central bank is a privileged and elite financial institution, endowed with the functions of an administrative body and a bank.

Central banks owe their creation to the state with its political and economic goals. The special role of the central bank lies in the fact that, by combining market and non-market elements, it helps the state to redistribute cash flows, financial resources so as to increase budget revenues.

There are two ways to create central banks:

Historical consolidation of the function money issue for the largest credit institution;

Establishment of an issuing bank by the state.

The emergence of the first central banks dates back to the end of the 17th century. Then the functions of the central bank did not differ from the functions of a conventional bank, with the exception of lending to the government.

The Swedish "Riksbank" (1668) and the Bank of England (1694) are recognized as the oldest central banks in the world.

The process of monopolization by central banks of the function of issuing money proceeded for a long time and was completed in most countries of the world at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. The Bank of England legally obtained a monopoly on the issuance of banknotes in 1844.

Among the economically developed countries of the last quarter of the XIX century. only the United States did not have centralized organization banking system. In 1913, more than 20,000 banks operated on their territory, and about 7,000 with the right to issue banknotes.

The concentration of issuing activity in the central bank put it in a privileged position on money market, made it possible to purposefully influence the supply and demand of monetary resources. As a result, new functions and operations of the central bank began to develop, which are not characteristic of other credit institutions.

As the demonetization of gold intensified, central banks used more and more new methods of curbing inflation, assuming the function of curbing it, began to control and predict the growth of the money supply.

The discussions of economists regarding the degree of independence of central banks from the state do not stop. The independence of the central bank is understood as a special form of state control over the state of this sphere in the country. In many respects, the level of independence of individual issuing banks was formed under the influence national characteristics state credit system and problems of state control over financial flows.

In world practice, there are four models of interaction between the central bank and other bodies state power in the field of monetary policy. First: the central bank implements the monetary policy developed by the government (France, Italy). Second: government bodies have the right to instruct the central bank in this area of ​​activity (Russia, Japan). Third: according to the laws of the country, the central bank is obliged to support the economic policy of the government, at the same time, state bodies are not entitled to interfere in the monetary policy of the issuing bank. Fourth: the central bank is independent of the government, conducts monetary policy independently.

In matters of accountability of central banks in world practice, there are also certain features. Federal backup system The US is accountable to Congress. The National Bank of France is accountable to the Audit Chamber of Parliament; on personnel issues, when drawing up a project for the distribution of bank profits, the approval of the Minister of Economy and Finance is required. The Minister of Finance of Canada is vested with the right (after consultation with the government) to give specific instructions to the Bank of Canada on financial policy.

The head of the bank is appointed (elected) from candidates proposed by the government, as in the UK, USA, Switzerland, France, Japan, or by the central bank, as in Italy, the Netherlands.

In most countries of the world, central banks are the property of the state. In some countries (USA, Switzerland, South Africa, Japan), their founder-shareholders may be commercial banks and other legal and individuals. A number of central banks have the right to independently (without government oversight) set cost estimates. In France, the budget adopted by the central bank can be rejected by the parliament; in the USA, its subsequent control by the state is possible.

The role of the central bank in the economy of the state is determined by its legal status and forms of relationship and interaction with the government and commercial banks. Modern central banks, as a rule, are established in the form of a joint-stock company or an independent administrative-public entity (public corporations). Thus, the US Federal Reserve System is an independent agency, which in turn is among the federal administrative institutions; Austrian National Bank - Joint-Stock Company with special administrative status.

The tasks and functions of the central bank in most countries of the world are defined in several laws: the Constitution, the laws on the central bank of the country, on banking. The main tasks of the central bank include:

Development and implementation of monetary policy as a set of functions to ensure the purchasing power of money, support economic policy governments (to promote long-term economic growth, curb inflation, regulate employment, equalize the balance of payments);

Supervision of the credit system;

Organization of functioning payment system and supervision.The global trend is to build national settlement systems under the control and supervision of the central bank through a single correspondent account opened in it, strengthening the competent functions of the central bank to regulate payment systems.

  • < Назад
  • Next >

From the point of view of ownership of capital, central banks can be divided into state, joint-stock, mixed.

State banks These are banks whose capital belongs to the state.

Some central banks were originally created as state banks. For example, the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), established in 1957, like its predecessor, the Reichsbank (1875). One such central bank is the one established in 1860. State bank, which later became the central issuing bank of Russia. Other central banks were first private (such as the Bank of England (1694), Bank of France (1800) and then were Nationalized.

Joint stock banks- banks whose capital was the contributions of the founders.

A prominent representative of joint-stock central banks is the US Federal Reserve System (FRS), established by the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. The capital of the Federal Reserve Banks is formed from shares of private commercial banks that become members of the FRS. Despite the joint-stock form of organization, the Fed is one of the most important government institutions, the leadership of which is appointed by the president of the country.

Mixed central banks are banks in whose capital, together with the state, the private sector participates.

Among the central banks of this group, for example, the Bank of Japan, founded in 1882. According to the Law of 1942, only 55% of the authorized capital of the bank belongs to the state

120. The concept of tasks and functions of the Central Bank and their development in modern conditions

Traditionally, the central bank has five main tasks. The Central Bank is intended to be:

The emission center of the country, i.е. enjoy the monopoly right to issue banknotes;

Bank of banks, i.e. transact not with commercial and industrial clients, but primarily with the banks of a given country: to keep their cash reserves, the amount of which is established by law, to provide them with loans (lender of last resort), to exercise supervision, maintaining required level standardization and professionalism in the national credit system;

Government banker, for this he must support government economic programs and place government securities; provide loans and fulfill settlement operations for the government, to hold (official) gold and foreign exchange reserves;

The main settlement center of the country, acting as an intermediary between other banks of the country when performing non-cash payments based on the offset of mutual claims and obligations (clearings);

The body regulating the economy by monetary methods.



The Central Bank performs the following main functions:

· exercises a legally fixed emission monopoly in relation to banknotes (nationwide credit money), which are generally recognized as the final means of repaying debt obligations;

· is a "bank of banks" (commercial banks are required to keep part of their cash reserves in the central bank, these reserves are mandatory). The Central Bank sets the minimum ratio of required reserves to banks' liabilities on liabilities;

is a banker of the government (accounts of the government and government departments are opened in it, sometimes the central bank carries out cash execution of the state budget);

Carries out monetary regulation and ensuring stability national currency. The value of money is managed through management money supply(amount of money). As instruments of monetary policy for managing the money supply, central banks are: the minimum reserve policy; discount and pawn policy; open market policy.

Bank of Russia:

· in cooperation with the Government of the Russian Federation develops and implements a unified state monetary policy aimed at ensuring the stability of the ruble;

· monopoly issues cash and organizes its circulation;

· is a lender of last resort for credit institutions, organizes a refinancing system;

establishes the rules for making settlements in the territory Russian Federation; holding banking operations, accounting and reporting for the banking system;

carries out state registration credit organizations; issues and revokes licenses of credit organizations and organizations involved in their audit;

Carries out all types of banking operations;

carries out currency control and currency regulation, including purchase and sale operations foreign exchange;

determines the procedure for settlements with foreign countries;

· takes part in the development of the forecast of the country's balance of payments and organizes its compilation;

· analyzes and forecasts the state of the country's economy, monetary and monetary and financial relations.

The main functions of the Bank of Russia are the licensing of banking activities, control over the activities of credit institutions, currency regulation And currency control. Currently, the Bank of Russia is pursuing a strict policy of revoking banking licenses from credit institutions in the following cases:

Establishing the unreliability of the information on the basis of which the license was issued;

· delays in the commencement of banking operations provided for by the license for more than a year from the date of its issuance;

Establishing facts of unreliability of reporting data;

carrying out banking operations not provided for by the license;

non-compliance with requirements federal laws, as well as regulatory acts of the Bank of Russia;

unsatisfactory financial position credit institution failure to fulfill its obligations to depositors and creditors.
121. Methods and instruments of monetary policy and features of their application in Russia.

Monetary policy methods are a set of ways, instruments of influence of the subjects of monetary policy on the object of monetary policy in order to achieve the set goals.

The methods of carrying out day-to-day monetary policy are called tactical objectives of monetary policy. This impact is carried out with the help of appropriate tools.

The instrument of monetary policy is understood as a means, a way of influencing the Central Bank as a body of monetary regulation on the objects of monetary policy.

In the framework of monetary policy, direct and indirect methods are used.

Direct methods are in the nature of administrative measures in the form of various directives of the Central Bank regarding the volume of money supply and prices for financial market. The implementation of these measures gives the most rapid effect in terms of the Central Bank's control over the price or the maximum volume of deposits and loans, especially in the context of an economic crisis.

Indirect methods of regulation of the monetary sphere affect the behavior of economic entities with the help of market mechanisms Naturally, the efficiency of using indirect methods is closely related to the level of development of the money market.

In world economic practice, the Central Bank uses the following main instruments of monetary policy:

Changes in the required reserve ratio or the so-called reserve requirements;

The interest rate policy of the Central Bank, i.e., changing the mechanism for borrowing funds by commercial banks from the Central Bank or depositing funds of commercial banks with the Central Bank;

Operations with government securities on the open market.

122. Modern ideas about the essence and functions of the bank.

It is advisable to consider the essence of the bank at the macro level in relation to the economy as a whole, including the whole variety of real activities of specific banks. A bank is first and foremost an enterprise producing a special, specific product. The bank, as a specific enterprise, produces a product that differs significantly from the product of the sphere material production, he produces not just a commodity, but a commodity of a special kind in the form of money, means of payment. Money is a reproductive category; cash issued by the bank as the only monopolist in the total mass of reproduction subjects serves both the sphere of production and distribution, exchange and consumption.

The essence of the bank requires disclosure of its structure. The structure of the bank should not be confused with the structure of the bank management apparatus. The structure of a bank is understood as such a structure that enables it to function as a specific enterprise (institution). In this sense, the structure of a bank includes four mandatory blocks, without which it cannot exist and develop.

The first block includes banking capital as specific capital, freed from industrial and commercial capital, as capital that exists mainly in loan form and is only in motion.

The second block covers banking activity, which differs from the activities of other enterprises and institutions by the nature of its product, which has become its main occupation (unlike other entities that could only perform individual banking operations that did not become their main, fundamental business).

The third block consists of a special group of people with specific knowledge in the field of banking and bank management.

The fourth block can be called production, because it includes banking equipment, buildings, structures, means of communication and communication, internal and external information, certain types of production materials.

Taking into account the analysis of the specifics of the bank, its foundation and structure, the bank can be defined as an enterprise or a monetary institution that regulates the payment turnover in cash and non-cash forms.

123. The banking system of Russia and its features modern development. Macroeconomic factors in the development of the banking system.

The development of the banking system is influenced by a number of macroeconomic and political factors. Among them are:

the degree of development of commodity-money relations;

public and economic order, its purpose and social orientation;

· legislative framework and acts;

· a general idea of ​​the nature and role of the bank in the economy.

The degree of development of commodity-money relations, trade, money circulation predetermine both the scale and the content of banking activities. The formation of a brisk money and commodity turnover, the development of national markets, international trade are a prerequisite for the development of the banking system. The demand for banking services increases and expands as the scale of production and exchange between producers increases. Wars, natural disasters, protracted economic crises have a negative impact on the development of the banking system.

The social and economic order inevitably affects the nature of the banking system. If savings are not encouraged in society, distribution is preferred over commodity exchange, then banks will not receive impulses for development, moreover, in such conditions, the activities of banks may be curtailed. The development of banks is also influenced by the prohibitions of local authorities. Local lobbies can influence decisions on opening branches of other banks, for example, from neighboring regions.

The legislative framework also has a significant impact on the development of the banking system. Some countries prohibit certain banking transactions. For example, in the United States it is illegal to issue bank guarantees. In a number of countries, banks are not allowed to engage in insurance. In accordance with the legislation in some countries, central banks can be widely involved in servicing the economy.

However, legislation can be not only prohibitive, but, on the contrary, promote the development of the banking system. So, in Russia, starting from 1987, a radical restructuring of the banking system began, a large number of commercial banks and non-banking institutions, since the course taken by the government for market management of the economy required the restructuring of the entire banking system in the country.

The development of the banking system is also greatly influenced by general ideas about the nature and role of the bank in the economy. In the distribution system, the bank is perceived as a part of the state apparatus of management, a body of control and supervision over the activities of enterprises. Banks occupy a different position in the conditions market economy. The banking system acquires a two-level character, ownership of banks acquires features that are adequate to the diversity of forms of ownership in the economy, the system becomes more versatile, acquires more complete features, and offers society a wider range of operations and services.

The development of the banking system can be constrained by such factors as excessive tax pressure on bank profits, lack of sufficient resources for active banking operations, lack of qualified personnel, etc. In countries with economies in transition, it is often these factors that prevent banks from taking wider steps in its development.

In each state, the Central Bank functions - a body of state monetary regulation of the economy, endowed with the right to monopoly issue banknotes, regulate money circulation, control activities credit institutions, storage of official gold and foreign exchange reserves.

IN different countries Central banks can be called differently: state, national, popular, etc. In a number of countries, such banks report directly to parliament, or to a special banking commission formed by the country's legislature.

This body should be independent, sometimes acting as a certain counterbalance to the actions of the government, but the independence of the Central Bank should also have its objective limits, since the deepening of fundamental contradictions with the governing system of society can make it difficult to govern the country.

In Western literature, the contradictions surrounding the activities of the Central Bank have been called the magic quadrangle. The angles are: economic growth, the problem of employment, the value of money and the balance of the country's balance of payments.

Central banks, as a rule, are legally independent and should not be completely subordinate to the state, although their activities partially affect the interests of the state itself and economic sectors. The issues of independence of the Central Bank are of fundamental importance in connection with the need to distinguish between public finances and banking resources, i.e. limiting the rights of governments to use the funds of these banks. To carry out their functions, the Central Bank uses a wide range of economic instruments through which monetary policy is implemented.

Basic provisions on the organization of the monetary system modern Russia formulated in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The legislation of the Russian Federation provides that the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is legal entity, a subject of federal property with a special status. This is an economically independent institution that exists on own income. The Bank of Russia is not liable for the obligations of the state, just as the state is not liable for the obligations of the bank. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation performs the following functions:

1. Develops and implements a unified state and monetary policy.

2. Regulates money circulation.

3. Is a monopolist in the issue of cash.

4. Organizes credit relations.

5. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the settlement center of the country.

6. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is a currency regulation body.

7. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation establishes the rules of accounting and priority, the procedure for conducting operations for all banks and credit institutions. It licenses the activities of banks, credit institutions and audit organizations involved in the audit of the bank, registers the issue of securities of banks and credit institutions, maintains a register of securities issued by them.

The Bank of Russia uses the following tools and methods:

1. Definition interest rates on the transactions performed.

2. Establishment of reserve requirements for depositing funds of credit institutions.

3. Carrying out operations on the open market.

4. Refinancing banks and providing loans.

5. Implementation of foreign exchange investments.

6. Setting price targets.

7. Introduction of credit restrictions.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation may set one or more official interest rates, taking into account the specifics various kinds operations or pursue an interest rate policy without fixing the official interest rate.

The refinancing system consists of lending to Russian banks and other credit institutions in deadlines and within the limits allocated by the limit.