Central Bank of Russia

State Bank of the Russian Empire

The decision to create a State Bank of the Russian Empire was made by Emperor Peter III on May 1762, which was modeled on Bank of England and would have the right to issue bank notes. However, due to the coup on June 28, 1762 and the murder of the Czar, the project was implemented. The outbreak in 1768 the Russian-Turkish War and deficit of the state budget forced Catherine II, in turn, refer to the idea of issuing a paper money, and in December 1768 she formed the State Assignation Bank, which existed until 1818 and was replaced by the State Commercial Bank, but the first central banking body in Russia was established on 12 June [O.S. 31 May] 1860 as The State Bank (GosBank) of the Russian Empire (Russian: Государственный банк Российской Империи) which was formed on the base of the State Commercial Bank by ukaz of Emperor Alexander II. This ukaz also ratified the Statues of the bank. According to the Statute, it was a state-owned bank, intended for short-term credit of trade and industry.

In early 1917 the Bank had 11 branches, 133 permanent and 5 temporary offices and 42 agencies. On 7 November 1917 the Russian State Bank was disestablished and replaced by The People's Bank which existed until the establishment of the Soviet Gosbank.

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) was established July 13, 1990 as a result of the transformation of the Russian Republican Bank of the State Bank of the USSR. It was accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. On December 2, 1990 the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR passed the Law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), according to which the Bank of Russia has become a legal entity, the main bank of the RSFSR and was accountable to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. In June 1991, the charter was adopted by the Bank of Russia. On December 20, 1991 the State Bank of the USSR was abolished and all its assets, liabilities and property in the RSFSR were transferred to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), which was then renamed to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia). Since 1992, the Bank of Russia began to buy and sell foreign currency on the foreign exchange market created by it, establish and publish the official exchange rates of foreign currencies against the ruble.

Role and duties

According to the constitution, it is an independent entity, with the primary responsibility of protecting the stability of the national currency, the ruble.

It is the main regulator of the Russian banking industry, responsible for banking licenses, rules of banking operations and accounting standards, serving as a lender of last resort for credit organizations.

It holds the exclusive right to issue ruble banknotes and coins through the Moscow and St. Petersburg mints, the Goznak mint. The central bank issues commemorative coins made of precious and non precious metals as well as investment ones made of precious metals, which are distributed inside and outside the country. In 2010 in honor of its 150th anniversary it issued a 5-kilo commemorative gold coin Alexander II.

Under Russian law, half of the bank's profit must be channeled into the government's federal budget. The Central Bank of Russia is a member of the BIS.

The Bank of Russia owns a 57.58% stake in Sberbank, the country's leading commercial bank.

Governors of the State Bank

The Governor was appointed by the Emperor of Russia.

Chairman of the Board of the USSR State Bank

The Chairman was appointed by the Premier of the Soviet Union.

President of the Central Bank of Russia

The President of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank is the head of the central banking system of the Russian Federation. The Head is chosen by the President of Russia; and serves for four-year-terms after appointment. A Head may be appointed for several consecutive terms (Sergey Ignatyev was the Governor of the Central Bank for 11 years, and he was appointed three times, in the longest serving term in post-soviet Russia).

Politics

In December 2014, amidst falling global oil prices, Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, capital flight, and fears of recession, the bank had increased the one-week minimum auction repo rate up by 6.5 points to 17 percent. This caused a run on the rouble, and on January 29, the bank decreased the rate by two points to 15 percent.

In January 2015, the head of monetary policy, Ksenia Yudayeva, a proponent of strict anti-inflation policy, was replaced by Dmitry Tulin, who is "seen as more acceptable to bankers, who have called for lower interest rates".