It is now clear to everyone that low inflation must be good for people because price growth does not accelerate, food prices do not grow. However, perhaps not everybody has realised the benefits of sustainably low inflation for businesses, because we are yet to assure them that inflation will indeed remain low and stable, and companies may rely on this assurance in making plans and raising investment. I hope we will be able to achieve this in the forthcoming years. As for the development of the financial and banking sector, I would like to complete the so-called resolution policy and invest more in favourable conditions for banking and finance at large, in order to improve financial inclusion and expand the availability of financial services to customers so that they have more trust in the financial system. The confidence in the banking system is already relatively high, but I would like to support and strengthen it. A separate task is the development of the non-bank financial sector. We have quite a small share of pension funds and insurance companies, though they are a source of long money necessary to economic development. These are the key objectives in this field. QUESTION from Reuters: 11 / 14  BIS central bankers' speeches  The seasonal nature of the balance of payments makes analysts expect purchases of foreign currency conducted by the Ministry of Finance to have larger impact on the ruble exchange rate in April. Do you support this view? And a question about methodology.
The exchange rate is governed not only by oil – oil is an important factor, but not the only one to influence the exchange rate. The depreciation of the ruble was also largely triggered by typical seasonal variation in the current account – the current account usually shows stronger performance in the first quarter, irrespective of oil prices. The second factor is the growth in oil prices and oil sales by exporters. The third factor is important but the Central Bank believes that it should not be overestimated or exaggerated. I am referring to certain inflows of capital, which are comparable to the inflows of foreign capital to emerging markets. Further developments will depend on many factors: oil price movements, the Fed’s policy, strengthening or weakening of the exchange rate, and the strength of our economy. There are many forces at play here. QUESTION from TV channel Russia-24: Mrs Nabiullina, you have already mentioned that the Central Bank will support Russian stateowned banks affected by sanctions in relation to the situation in Ukraine. What specific measures are you going to take? Thank you. ELVIRA NABIULLINA: I would like to repeat and emphasise that we do not see any risk to financial stability of our credit institutions even if their investments in Ukrainian assets depreciate completely, because they account for only a very small share of their assets. Therefore we do not see any systemic risks here. Our banks have already created or are creating provisions for such assets.