Nabiullina opposed the forced conversion of currency into rubles

Elvira Nabiullina, chairman of the Bank of Russia, said that there should be no forced conversion of currency into rubles. According to her, Russians should have a choice: to leave the currency on their accounts, taking risks, or voluntarily convert into rubles.

“Our position was and is that if this is not provided for by the agreements, then there should be no forced conversion of the currency into rubles. Citizens, clients, should have a choice – to leave their funds in foreign currency, taking risks, commissions, and so on, or convert them into rubles, ”Elvira Nabiullina said during a press conference following a meeting of the board of directors on monetary credit policy.

At the same time, she noted that citizens are now voluntarily “quite actively converting from the foreign currency of countries” that have imposed sanctions against Russia. According to her, Russians convert into rubles or the currency of friendly countries. “We will carefully monitor that citizens and clients have enough time to make this choice consciously,” the head of the Central Bank added.

Elvira Nabiullina assured that the Central Bank is not considering introducing additional restrictions on cross-border transfers from Russia.

On September 16, Mrs. Nabiullina said that the currencies of unfriendly countries (dollar, euro) have become “toxic” for their holders. Despite this, she emphasized, currency conversion into rubles will always be available. The head of the Central Bank has repeatedly stated that there is no question of forced conversion of foreign currency accounts in Russia. The Russian banks Raiffeisenbank and Tinkoff Bank introduced a commission for servicing foreign currency accounts in the summer.

Lusine Balasyan