The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance are taking measures to curb the ruble’s appreciation, and the Ministry of Economy has estimated the share of Russian exports affected by sanctions – these and other important news for Monday morning, May 23, in our daily review.

The Central Bank has started buying foreign currency again to keep the ruble from sharply strengthening, the Vedomosti newspaper reported, citing sources. According to them, the Central Bank is buying only foreign currency proceeds from exporters, but not directly. According to the newspaper’s sources, the regulator makes purchases with the help of other financial market participants, but they did not give details. A source in the government specified that the Central Bank took these measures because the demand for currency comparable to export proceeds did not appear on the market. Later, the Bank of Russia denied the information about the purchase of currency through intermediaries from exporters. “In response to your request, we inform you that this information does not correspond to reality,” the Central Bank’s press service told Interfax.

It is proposed to relax the requirement for Russian exporters to sell foreign currency proceeds. Since February 28, they are obliged to sell 80% of proceeds under foreign trade contracts. This threshold is proposed to be reduced to 50%. According to TASS, citing a source in the Russian Ministry of Finance, the agency together with the Central Bank have already prepared a corresponding proposal. The government will consider it this week, the same source said.

The countries that imposed sanctions against Russia account for half of the country’s foreign trade turnover, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said in a letter to the head of the CPRF party Gennady Zyuganov. About it writes RBC. In particular, trade with the countries of the “G7” (G7) accounts for 25% of Russia’s total foreign trade: 22% of total exports and 28% of imports.

Retailer Levi Strauss & Co. made a final decision to leave the Russian market after 29 years of work. This is reported by “Kommersant”, citing sources. According to the sources of the publication, the company is looking for buyers for part of its stores in Russia. The interlocutors noted that Levi’s has stopped supplying goods and plans to sell their remnants through other sites.

Sberbank for the first time yielded to VTB on the number of granted favorable mortgage loans for housing in new buildings, writes Forbes. This occurred against the background of the beginning of the recovery of the market, which fell seriously after the increase in the Central Bank rate. During the fall, the number of disbursements under this state program at Sberbank and VTB for the first time really converged, and now VTB has taken the lead.