Central Bank of Russia - Role and Duties

Role and Duties

According to the constitution, the Bank of Russia is an independent entity, with the primary responsibility of protecting the stability of the national currency, the ruble. It also holds the exclusive right to issue ruble banknotes and coins through the Goznak mint. Its headquarters are on Neglinnaya Street in Moscow.

In its monetary policy decisions the Russian Central Bank is less independent than many other central banks. Although the Law on the Central Bank states that the central bank performs its duties independently of other state organs, the law also says that the central bank plans and carries out monetary and financial policy in cooperation with the Russian government. The Central bank annually prepares a basic outline of monetary and financial policy for the following three years, which is submitted to the government for discussion and presented to the State Duma. Its basic assumptions are consistent with the government’s economic forecasts. The central bank's monetary policy tools are listed in the Law "On the Central Bank":

• interest rates on Central Bank operations
• reserve requirements
• open market operations
• refinancing of credit organisations
• currency interventions
• setting of money-supply targets
• direct quantitative restrictions
• bond issues