Research & Expertise – News

According to the Belarusian ambassador in Moscow, the integration is planned to be completed by January 1, 2022. The process includes the creation of common energy and transport markets, the unification of tax and customs legislation, as well as the transition to a unified industrial and agricultural policy.Also, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry recalled its representative to the EU and suspended participation in the Eastern Partnership initiative.Vasily Solodkov, director of the HSE Banking Institute, believes that the Russian economy will primarily suffer from such actions.The expert also believes that the process will not happen within the announced deadlines, recalling that talks about the integration of the monetary system between the countries have been conducted for almost 30 years.

The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown have made life difficult for credit institutions and their clients. Citizens’ incomes have decreased, which can lead to an increase in bad debts, and a decrease in the key rate to support the economy makes deposits less and less attractive and deprives banks of an important resource. Banks are compelled to search for new ways to earn money, which carries additional risks, says HSE Banking Institute Director Vasily Solodkov.