In talking about the influence of the latest political events on the financial situation, the head of the Central Bank said the retirement of the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, had not resulted in a shock on the stock markets. On the contrary, it had led to a rise in prices of Russian equities, primarily Eurobonds, said Mr Gerashchenko.
The head of the Central Bank also said there had been no errors in the working of the Russian bank system due to the Year 2000 problem.
Mr Putin asked the Central Bank leadership to come up with measures for increasing Russians’ purchasing power. Mr Putin said that one of these measures could be the development of consumer and housing credit, and a more active policy of the Central Bank in the field of interest rates.