Moscow Exchange to reduce use of dollars as collateral

Russian authorities have voiced concerns about individual and corporate holdings of dollars and other currencies that it terms “unfriendly”, calling for their conversion into alternatives.

The Moscow Exchange – the countrys largest bourse – said it will from Aug 15 halve the proportion of dollars in the collateral that users of its platform provide to carry out transactions to 25% from 50%.

De-dollarisation in Russia has gained pace since Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24. The sanctions have impaired Moscows access to international economic and global trading systems.

The central bank said on Monday it planned to differentiate the cost of foreign currency loans for legal entities and their investments in debt securities depending on whether they were denominated in currencies of friendly or unfriendly countries.