Gref announced the expectation of lowering the key rate

On September 5, Sberbank CEO German Gref announced on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum 2025 (WEF 2025) that he expected a reduction in the key interest rate in Russia.

"Positive expectations for a decline? Yes," he said, answering a question from Interfax.

Gref added that the decision on the need to lower the key rate is made by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Russia. According to him, the conditions for lowering the rate in the Russian Federation have already developed.

"For investment growth, the key rate should be below 10%"

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The day before, German Gref expressed the hope that the Central Bank would not allow the country's economy to enter a recession. According to him, the cooling of the economy continues in Russia. He also noted that the first quarter of 2025 can be considered as technical stagnation. Sberbank estimates that the key rate at the end of this year will be 14%.

On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin disagreed with Gref on the issue of economic stagnation. The Russian leader added that some members of the government are also talking about economic stagnation due to the continued high key interest rate, but this measure is aimed at combating inflation in the country.

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