The Central Bank may institute new measures to dampen the inflow of “speculative capital” into the country, it said in a report on its web site.
The Central Bank may raise capital reserve requirements for banks on foreign currency deposits and banks’ liabilities to nonresidents, it said.
Higher taxes on foreign borrowing by corporations and control of foreign borrowing by companies in which the state holds a stake are among “other measures under consideration,” it said. A return to capital controls is not being considered.
“Excessive volatility of private capital flows poses a serious threat to the systematic stability of the Russian economy,” the report said.
Russia posted an estimated net capital outflow of $52.4 billion last year as the economy contracted a record 7.9 percent and foreign direct investment plummeted 41 percent. The country saw a record net outflow of $130 billion in 2008, following a record net inflow of $83 billion a year earlier.
Russia posted a net outflow of $13 billion in January, although the trend may have reversed in February, Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said, Interfax reported.
In an interview published Wednesday in Izvestia, Ulyukayev said the Central Bank supports limitations on bonuses paid to bankers.
“We are not proposing limiting bonuses directly or levying a tax on them,” Ulyukayev said. “If the size of bank capital is within a certain band, restrictions can be placed on the right to divide profits. The higher the capital adequacy, the smaller the restrictions.”
Banks are under scrutiny from governments worldwide to reduce compensation amid public anger about trillions of taxpayer dollars used to bail out lenders during the credit crisis. In December, Britain introduced a one-time 50 percent levy on discretionary bank bonuses of more than £25,000 ($37,500) to encourage banks to build up their capital.
Ulyukayev also said in the interview that the Central Bank is seeking to increase the share of gold in its international reserves.
“Gold will always be a natural quality asset,” Ulyukayev said. “We buy as much gold as the industry can produce without harming the market.”
The bank added 100,000 troy ounces of gold to its reserves in January, increasing its holdings to 20.6 million ounces, the bank said Feb. 19. The biggest energy exporter holds $432.4 billion in the reserves, the world’s third largest after China and Japan.
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