Alyaksandr Lukashenka, by his December 7 presidential edict, approved Belarus' monetary policy guidelines for next year.
The guidelines will be aimed at maintaining the Belarusian economy's external and internal balance, which is a "key condition of its stable development," according to the presidential press office. The National Bank plans to continue pegging the Belarusian rubel to a basket of three currencies - the US dollar, the euro and the Russian ruble, promising to ensure that the rubel’s fluctuations against the basket do not exceed 10 percent throughout the year.
The National Bank's base refinance rate is projected to be between nine and 12 percent, while the banking system's interest rate policy will be aimed at increasing the accessibility of bank loans for businesses and encourage economic entities and individuals to deposit money into banks.
Interests rates on rubel loans are expected to vary between 12 and 15 percent toward the end of 2010, while interest rates on bank savings are projected to be between 10 and 13 percent.
Individuals' bank deposits are to rise by 5.6 trillion to 7.2 trillion rubels, while businesses' deposits are to increase by between 5.1 trillion and 6.2 trillion rubels.
The country's international reserves, calculated according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Special Data Dissemination Standard, are expected to go up by $500 million to $1.83 billion.
The National Bank projects the banking sector's assets to grow by between 31 and 36 percent, while bank loans for economic entities are to rise by 36 to 40 percent.
