MOSCOW, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Russia has pledged over $200 billion from budget funds and its oil wealth cash pile to help cushion the economy from a sharp slowdown and to kick-start its financial markets.
So far, the crisis has seen companies cut jobs, salaries and investment plans, forced consolidation in Russia's 1,000-plus banking sector and prompted a rise in corporate debt defaults.
Following is a summary of measures announced so far.
CORPORATE DEBT
-- Companies to get $50 billion from Russia's gold and forex reserves to help refinance foreign debt, with money distributed by state entity VEB. Demand has exceeded supply, and officials have said it is possible the cash pot will be increased.
-- The money is available to companies working in the real economy and strategic sectors, which had borrowed to fund investment projects or asset purchases within Russia, and the aid will be linked to capital investment programmes.
FISCAL MEASURES
-- Profit tax to be cut to 20 percent from 24, while a new depreciation mechanism will allow firms to cut tax bills further
-- Shares held for over a year exempt from profit tax, further plans to liberalise taxation of securities market
-- Further tax cuts for oil and gas sector due to be announced this year and implemented from 2010
-- A three-month extension for quarterly valued added tax (VAT) payments, usually a big drain on banking sector liquidity
-- Government allowed to redistribute funds between different areas of next year's budget as needed
STOCK PURCHASES
-- Pledge of 350 billion roubles ($12.53 billion) of budget funds for buying shares and corporate bonds to support and stabilise the market, split between this year and next
-- Purchases via VEB started in October, with the focus on highly-rated, liquid companies
BANKING SYSTEM SUPPORT MEASURES
-- Banking sector given 950 billion roubles ($36 billion)
from the budget and oil wealth funds in subordinated loans; 500
billion of that direct to state-owned lending major Sberbank
-- Introduction of collateral-free loans given out by the central bank to commercial banks, with a total of up to 3.5 trillion roubles up for grabs via auctions, for periods of up to one year. Designed to replace and supplement the budget cash previously deposited at commercial banks by the Finance Ministry. Banks eligible subject to credit ratings requirements.
-- Central bank statement that it can offer up to 1 trillion roubles a day in its twice-daily repo auctions
-- Access to central bank's refinancing increased to banks classed as having problems, and authorities are discussing the possibility of also including investment firms
-- Lombard list of collateral accepted for refinancing via the central bank widened by lowering required ratings and allowing the inclusion of mortgage-backed securities
-- Major banks to be partially compensated for any losses sustained as a result of lending money on the interbank market
-- Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank to lend 60 billion roubles to stock market participants, effectively offering de-facto state support for troubled brokerages
-- Bank deposit guarantees increased to 100 percent of the first 700,000 roubles, equal to around 40 average monthly wages
-- Maximum term for central bank funding via repo and lombard auctions increased to one year from three months.
-- the central bank also seeks to appoint representatives to commercial banks, which received government aid, to ensure the money trickles into the economy.
ROUBLE
-- Central bank has been regularly intervening in the
currency market, spending about $100 billion since mid-August to
support the rouble. Since Nov. 11 it has allowed the rouble to
weaken in six 1 percent steps versus a euro-dollar basket
-- Banks urged not to raise net foreign currency longs nor foreign denominated assets until the year-end; compliance taken into account in allocating central bank's collateral-free loans
-- Introduced daily limit -- sometimes as low as zero -- set on currency swap operations with the central bank. Rate on the rouble part of the overnight currency swap raised to 13 percent
-- Rate on the rouble part of overnight currency swaps raised to 10 percent, in a move which analysts say should help discourage speculators from betting on rouble weakness
-- Introduced euro and dollar deposit accounts for commercial banks at the central bank to limit capital flight
RESERVE REQUIREMENTS
-- Banks' reserve requirements slashed to 0.5 percent across the board, representing cuts of between 5 and 8 percentage points since September, depending on the type of liabilities. The cuts are estimated to free up around 370 billion roubles
-- Increased the coefficient used for collateral accepted by the central bank
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INTEREST RATES
-- Raised rates, taking the refinancing rate to 13 percent, in a bid to discourage capital flight and boost rouble's appeal
MARKETS
-- Former central bank deputy chairman Konstantin Korishchenko appointed head of MICEX exchange
-- Stocks trading halted on numerous occasions to the consternation of some market participants
-- Trading suspension rules changed several times. Currently prescribe a one-hour trading halt if technical indexes rise by more than 10 percent or fall by more than 5 percent. A rise of over 20 percent or a fall over 10 percent means a suspension until the end of the following trading day
-- MICEX exchange widened parameters for daily rouble moves versus euro or dollar to +/- 1.75 percent and has increased the requirements for advance deposits on currency trades
REAL ECONOMY
-- The government created a list of 300 enterprises with sales of no less than $540 million and employing no fewer than 4,000 people, which will receive state support, and said it was ready to extend the list to 1,500.
-- The government sought to amend the 2009 budget to allocate 300 billion roubles ($10.79 billion) in state guarantees on loans taken out by enterprises from the list as well as defence industry firms.
-- Pledged 175 billion roubles in loans to real economy
-- State to buy real estate to support construction sector
-- VEB will earmark 30 billion roubles to support small and medium-sized enterprises
POLITICS
-- An extension of presidential term to six years from current four and parliament term to five years from current four to boost political stability
-- A promise of parliament seats to smaller parties which did not pass the seven percent threshold currently needed to get seats in the Duma lower house of parliament
- Unemployment benefit raised to 4,900 roubles ($175), tax breaks for home buyers, support and training for job seekers
-- Moscow insists it is sticking to all social spending plans
(Compiled by Toni Vorobyova and Gleb Bryanski; editing by Stephen Nisbet)