German Gref and Andrey Kostin were discouraged by the question asked to them by the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina.
She asked bankers how they would act if the key rate were cut to 4%.
The Chairman of the Central Bank asked this question to the heads of Sber and VTB during the Financial Congress, which was broadcast on the Bank of Russia’s Telegram channel.
Gref and Kostin were "horrified" when they imagined the consequences of such a decision by the regulator. In the current situation, the key rate at 4% is a disaster, the bankers believe.
“It will be terrible. <…> If the rate is 18%, it will be 18. Because inflation is a big problem, really,” Kostin said.
Gref agreed with his colleague, adding that if interest rates were to fall sharply, banks would simply stop lending money.
On July 3, it became known that inflation in Russia has accelerated, reaching 9.22% in annual terms.
More and more analysts say that in July the Central Bank will still raise the key rate to contain inflation.
Earlier it became known that the Central Bank will tighten regulation of the issuance of consumer loans.
