““Against the backdrop of serious problems in the economy, the authorities are looking for sources of resources, and banks have become one of the key targets””, – WRITE: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Against the background of serious problems in the economy, the authorities are looking for sources of resources, and banks have become one of the key targets,” the department said.
According to him, the first request of Lukashenko to banks is to lend state priorities. The SPR refers to his statement, which banks allegedly not funded the economy:
“The fall in the share of bank loans in investment from 27 % in 2014 to 12 % in 2024 is treated as a serious miscalculation. From now on, financial institutions must not only issue loans, but also actually instruct a business, how to reduce costs. Old recipes are also in the course of creating financial and industrial groups, where banks and enterprises artificially combine for investment. ”
Also, the intelligence adds, the Belarusian authorities require banks to increase the share of non -cash payments. This is interpreted as an intention to establish complete control over cash flows. Minsk is also likely to master “gray financial zones, including cryptocurrencies to bypass Western sanctions and make exports outside the control of international banks.”
In addition, Lukashenko requires urgent to reconcile the tendency to increase inflation, relying on administrative methods. Banks are instructed to hold back prices by replacing market mechanisms with manual regulation, notes the CPR.
Another initiative is to stimulate the demand for Belarusian goods through the expansion of consumer lending. The National Bank of Belarus sets the task at least twice to increase the share of loans for the products of local producers by the end of the five years. However, intelligence notes, such a model “only preserves inefficiency: businesses receive guaranteed sales instead of motivation to improve quality.”
“Separately, Lukashenko criticized banks for the use of” not for intended purpose “and emphasized that the money earned should be returned to the economy. In fact, the authorities once again made it clear that banks’ resources are considered state. As a result, financial institutions assign the role of the “wallet” of the regime – from lending to priority sectors to the fight against inflation and bypassing sanctions, ”the department adds.
Alexander Lukashenko on September 8 stated the need to look for New markets for Belarusian products that lose the Russian market.
Many countries have introduced several sanctions against Lukashenko in response to the suppression of dissent in the country, since the disputed presidential election in August 2020 caused mass protests due to the victory of the authoritarian ruler and tens of thousands of Belarusians were arrested for expression. The sanctions were expanded after the support of the Minsk Russian Full -Scale War against Ukraine in 2022.
