The Finance Ministry may cut the rate for 400 billion rubles worth of subordinated loans that were provided to banks during the crisis to reduce their repayment costs, a top Finance Ministry official said.
State-controlled VTB would be the main beneficiary of the proposal since it has secured 200 billion rubles ($6.73 billion) of subordinated loans from state agent Vneshekonombank at the rate of 8 percent.
"We are calculating the possible losses to the … state budget [should the proposed measure be implemented]," Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Savatyugin said Thursday, without saying what the new rate might be.
The government is struggling to balance next year's budget, and even with strict spending cuts it appears unlikely to narrow the deficit to the target of 4 percent of gross domestic product.
The government provided subordinated loans to the banking sector in a move to help banks struggling with losses to replenish capital and stimulate lending, seen as a key factor to help Russia's economy following the recession.
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