After trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange began with a 50% drop in prices against the background of the invasion of Ukraine, and the dollar exchange rate on the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange exceeded 86 rubles per dollar for the first time in history, the Bank of Russia announced steps to stabilize the situation.
Stockbrokers are prohibited until further notice from using short trades, that is, short trading, when the broker sells stocks that he does not have, in the expectation that they will fall in price, and he will remain in profit when he buys them.
Also, the Bank of Russia announced the beginning of intervention in the foreign exchange market, that is, it began to sell foreign currency in order to contain the fall of the ruble. In addition, the Central Bank allowed commercial banks to calculate the required amount of capital based on the ruble exchange rate as of February 18, 2022. This decision will be valid until October 1st.
Financial institutions received the right until October 1 to indicate the value of their assets in currency and securities at quotes correct as of February 18.
The measures taken made it possible to mitigate the fall of the ruble, which by the middle of the day of trading is already trading in the region of 83 rubles per dollar, and the fall on the stock exchange was reduced to 25%.