Kudrin says lending in Russia's economy "in full swing"
 MOSCOW, Mar 16 (Prime-Tass) -- Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Sunday that he believed lending in the Russian economy was "in full swing."
"Lending is in full swing, amounting to hundreds of billions of rubles per month, while old loans are being prolonged," Kudrin, who is also a deputy prime minister, told Russian television network Vesti. "Lending in the economy has so far increased, not decreased, including February and (the period from the start of March through) mid-March."
Kudrin said that he believed Russian banks had already overcome the initial “shock" and were now lending at a normal rate.
Kudrin added, however, that lending would not grow at a rate comparable to that during a credit boom that preceded the period of financial meltdown.
Kudrin also told Vesti that crude oil prices may fall further.
"Oil prices are unpredictable," he said. "Increases and decreases (in oil prices) couldn’t be predicted in 1998 and they cannot be predicted now." In 1998, Russia defaulted on its sovereign and commercial debts and sharply devalued its currency. Some observers have drawn parallels between that last financial and economic crisis in Russia and current turmoil.
He added that he believed Russia's Reserve Fund would allow the country to withstand a drop in oil prices.
Outlining the impact of the crisis on trade, Kudrin said last week during a visit to the U.K. that global trade had halved during the meltdown and that Russia's imports and exports had fallen at the same rate.
He said that he thought international agreements on preventing protectionism would preclude a further contraction in global trade.
(34.8316 rubles – U.S. $1)
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16.03.2009 13:14
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