The structural transformation of the Russian economy will last for years, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said addressing the State Duma (lower house) on Tuesday, adding that a global crisis would complicate the transformation process.
"The economy is experiencing a period of structural transformation. It looks differently for different sectors, in some being a search for new foreign sales markets, in some a search for alternative foreign suppliers of feedstocks, components, equipment, in some a pivot to the domestic market, an increase in the degree of processing, a change in the products themselves that are produced. It is a very complicated and multifaceted process, and we consider in our policy the way it unfolds both regarding sectors and regarding regions," TASS cited her as saying.
"According to our estimations, it (the structural transformation of the economy) will continue next year and in subsequent years, with its rates and success wholly depending on a number of factors," she said. In the event of a global crisis the transformation process would be more complicated, Nabiullina stated.
That said, the regulator’s chief noted the necessity of doing everything to create the conditions for the accelerated structural transformation of the Russian economy. "Over the past months the situation and the balance of risks for the global economy has slightly shifted towards, if not a full-fledged global crisis, at least a tougher scenario of developments. This is not a reason to simply wait to see how the situation unfolds, wait for the grass to grow as they put it. On the contrary, we should do everything to create the conditions for the accelerated structural transformation of the economy," she explained.
Meanwhile, it is hardly possible to count solely on the banking sector, considering the need for particularly long-term resources, Nabiullina stressed. "Banks cannot and should not be the main source of ‘long’ money, or long-term financing, to put it more correctly," she said, adding that growth based only on an increase in the debt burden of enterprises "is a road to credit crisis.".
