On Friday, February 25, the Russian currency rises in price on the Moscow Exchange.

During trading, the dollar exchange rate fell by 4.2% to 81.69 rubles, and the euro exchange rate - by 3.6% to 91.82 rubles.

The stock market also shows positive dynamics.

At the opening of trading, shares of Russian companies rose steadily in price.

Thus, the Moscow Exchange index rose by 24% - up to 2552 points, and the RTS index - by almost 29%, up to 956 points.

The ruble and securities win back part of the losses after a sharp collapse the day before.

Recall that during trading on February 24, the dollar and euro rates at some point rose by 9-10% and approached the marks of 90 and 100 rubles, respectively.

The Moscow Exchange and RTS indices, in turn, fell by 45-49% and updated a six-year low.

As a result, the Moscow Exchange had to suspend trading several times.

The emotional reaction of the market was provoked by the start of a special operation in Ukraine.

On the morning of February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect Donbass.

As the head of state explained, this decision was made after the request of the DPR and LPR for help.

At the same time, the Russian leader stressed that there are no plans to occupy the territory of Ukraine.

“The goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.

And for this, we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, as well as bringing to justice those who committed numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including citizens of the Russian Federation, ”Putin said in a televised address.

Due to the instability of the geopolitical situation, investors began to fear the imposition of tough sanctions against Moscow and began to massively withdraw money from Russian assets, which led to a collapse on the stock exchange.

Against this background, the Central Bank intervened in the situation, which announced a set of measures to support the financial market.

In particular, the regulator began to sell foreign currency from reserves and thereby increase the demand for rubles.

At the same time, the Central Bank began to provide additional liquidity to banks.

These operations are necessary so that credit institutions do not experience a shortage of cash in a market panic and can fulfill their obligations to customers.

“This time, the Bank of Russia very quickly launched measures to support banks and the foreign exchange market.

The Central Bank was fully prepared for such a development of events, since it learned the lessons of 2008 well and did not forget the experience of 2014.

Therefore, we assess the risks for the financial system as low, ”said Vladimir Bragin, director for the analysis of financial markets and macroeconomics at Alfa Capital, in an interview with RT.

Sanctions response

It should be noted that after the start of the operation to protect Donbass, the West immediately reacted.

So, on the evening of February 24, the United States, together with its allies, announced the introduction of new anti-Russian sanctions.

At the same time, the restrictions turned out to be less severe than originally expected, Vladimir Bragin believes.

“Firstly, the announcement of sanctions removed some of the uncertainty about which companies and banks could be hit.

Thus, there was clarity about the measures needed to stabilize the situation.

Secondly, there were fears that the restrictions would be much more stringent and would affect a wider range of companies and banks,” Bragin said.

The new restrictions, in particular, affected Sberbank.

Within 30 days, all US financial institutions will have to close correspondent accounts with the organization and subsequently reject any transactions involving the bank or its subsidiaries.

What's more, all dollar payments that Sberbank attempts to make to its customers must also be rejected when they reach US banks.

At the same time, the US authorities banned Sberbank from raising money on the American capital market.

It was decided to impose a similar restriction on Gazprombank, Rosselkhozbank, Gazprom, Gazpromneft, Transneft, Rostelecom, RusHydro, ALROSA, Sovcomflot, Russian Railways, Alfa-Bank and Moscow Credit Bank.

In addition, the US has imposed so-called blocking sanctions on VTB, FC Otkritie, Sovcombank, Novikombank, and their subsidiaries.

American companies will be banned from working with these organizations, and their assets in the US will be frozen.

“It is still difficult to assess the effect of sanctions, but companies and banks are definitely adapting to them.

If it is impossible to conduct transactions through American banks, then they will do it through Chinese ones.

Of course, there will be additional costs, but the business will cope with this.

I think the new restrictions are not something critical.

When making a decision on the LPR and DPR, the authorities calculated these risks, so all systems must be ready for this, ”said Maxim Shein, head of investment strategies at BCS World of Investments, in an interview with RT.

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The government and the Central Bank have already announced the readiness of measures to protect the financial market and companies from sanctions.

As emphasized in the Cabinet, today the country has all the necessary resources for this.

“Imitation modeling (stress tests) of the consequences of the imposition of sanctions were carried out.

As a result, clear action plans were formed.

The financial market and the largest companies are fully prepared for their implementation,” the government website said in a statement.

In the future, the Cabinet of Ministers will provide assistance to companies on the sanctions list, ensuring the stability of their work, maintaining jobs and wages.

In turn, credit institutions will continue to fulfill their obligations to customers, the Central Bank stressed.

“All operations of banks in rubles will be carried out, and the relevant services will be provided to all customers as usual.

All client funds in foreign currencies are also kept and can be withdrawn in the account currency.

The Bank of Russia is ready to support banks with funds in rubles and foreign currency,” the Central Bank assured.

Increased readiness

In addition to sanctions on banks and businesses, the US, together with its allies, is also going to limit 50% of Russian high-tech imports.

We are talking about products that are used in the defense, marine and aerospace industries.

The list, for example, includes semiconductors, computers, telecommunications equipment, lasers and sensors.

“Sanctions on the supply of new technologies are more dangerous, as it may cause difficulties for enterprises, including the automotive industry and aviation.

Nevertheless, we have good financial reserves, and in terms of cash, Russia is well prepared.

So, part of the funds from the NWF can go to support enterprises and businesses, and in terms of technology, we can expand mutual cooperation with China, ”said Sergey Suverov, investment strategist at Arikapital Management Company, in an interview with RT.

As sanctions are imposed, the US is not yet going to cut Russia off from the SWIFT international banking system or impose restrictions on the country's energy sector.

This was announced yesterday by US President Joe Biden.

Such rhetoric of the American president was positively received by investors, Sergey Suverov noted.

“The West is aware that now it is impossible to abandon our resources and it will take a long time to reorient supplies, so it is not a fact that sanctions will be imposed on our energy bloc.

Their further actions will depend on the development of the situation in Ukraine.

If the special operation drags on, of course, it cannot be ruled out that more stringent restrictions will follow, including disconnection from SWIFT, ”the analyst believes.

At the same time, the Russian economy and the financial sector are ready for such a development of events, experts say.

So, today the country already has its own analogue of the SWIFT payment system.

We are talking about the Financial Message Transmission System (SPFS) developed by the Central Bank.

The platform appeared back in 2014 and guarantees the uninterrupted transmission of payment orders within Russia and abroad.

“Before, everyone was really very afraid of the possible disconnection of Russia from SWIFT.

But now, since our own system has already been created, we are mentally prepared for this.

If colleagues abroad think that the imposition of sanctions adds to their popularity and respect, they are greatly mistaken,” Maxim Shein stressed.

Russia's readiness for additional sanctions was announced by the Ministry of Economic Development.

According to the ministry, today the country's economy is "an order of magnitude more stable than in 2014."

At the same time, a low level of public debt and a significant amount of international reserves play a positive role.

“The sanctions pressure we have faced since 2014 will now intensify.

The rhetoric of some foreign colleagues was such that we had long been preparing for potential new sanctions.

At the same time, they come from those countries that have already introduced restrictive measures against us.

Therefore, we will increase trade and economic ties with other countries, primarily with Asian countries,” the ministry said.