The Minutes of the Academic Council Meeting dated 19.04.2022
The second meeting of the Academic Council was held on April 19, 2022 by webinar.
The meeting was devoted to the issue “On the mechanisms for neutralizing sanctions against Russia”.
The main reports were delivered by Michael V. Ershov, Principal Director for Financial Research at the Institute for Energy and Finance and Anton V. Danilov‑Danilyan, Chairman of the Expert Council of the Industry Development Fund and Co‑Chairman of Delovaya Rossiya.
Michael V. Ershov outlined a range of issues in the monetary and financial spheres, on which the further development of Russia’s financial market and the economy as a whole largely depends in the fundamentally new conditions that are emerging as a result of anti‑Russian sanctions. The importance of changing the approaches that have been used in Russia for many years and relied on external markets, thereby making the economy more vulnerable to external factors, was emphasized. In the current sanctions, it is extremely important to rely on domestic sources of economic development. These include, in particular, mechanisms for creating liquidity in the economy based on the Central Bank’s purchase of Treasury bonds. Such a mechanism will create favorable conditions in the domestic market, helping to reduce interest rates and expand the volume of long‑term money for the real economy. The speaker emphasized the importance of a stable and non‑devaluing exchange rate of the Russian ruble. To this end, mechanisms for stabilizing the exchange rate were proposed. It was suggested that the step being taken to use rubles in export payments is important, as is the need to take measures to create conditions for using the ruble as the currency for pricing.
Anton V. Danilov‑Danilyan highlighted the important role of development funds in investment processes, in particular, referring to the Industrial Development Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Fund). In the current sanctions‑driven environment, where companies have limited financial resources, access to sales markets is difficult, and new problems are emerging, the Fund for Supporting Companies is adjusting its approach to be more lenient and is helping companies to operate effectively despite the sanctions. Among the support measures are the issuance of revolving loans to the Fund’s client companies, deferral of loan payments, cancellation of penalties for loan restructuring, expansion of collateral security options, and easing of a number of requirements that are particularly difficult to meet under sanctions (for example, the share of required exports, etc.). The speaker emphasized the low level of funding for development funds (which hinders their participation in investment processes) and the importance of increasing their capitalization in order to make broader use of the capabilities of such institutions for the development of import substitution and the economy as a whole.
The speakers’ presentations aroused great interest and sparked lively discussion among the meeting participants. In particular, the following issues were discussed: the mechanisms for using rubles in Russian exports, the prospects for conditions in financial markets, the possible dynamics of interest rates, the withdrawal of companies from Russia, and others. It was expressed that the sanctions would contribute to the restructuring of the Russian economy and, ultimately, should have a generally positive impact on its quality, although it will take several years before tangible results are achieved.
The Members of the Academic Council – Gromov A.I., Rykov Yu.G., Drebentsov V.V., Ivanova N.I., Konoplyanik A.A., Kryukov V.A. – presented their questions and comments.