On March 17, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. Belarus has enough cash currency. This was stated today at a meeting with the staff of Vitebsk City Clinical Maternity Hospital No. 1 by the Chairperson of the Board of OJSC "ASB Belarusbank" Nadezhda Ermakova during the Unified Information Day "2011 - Year of Entrepreneurship" held in Vitebsk, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. "There is quite enough cash currency on the market - dollars, euros, Russian rubles. The problem with their issuance is only technical," said Nadezhda Ermakova. "For example, Belarusbank alone holds over $3 billion in its accounts. At the same time, the population's deposits amount to only $600 million. Therefore, the money is there, but we simply cannot physically give it out in one day." Nadezhda Ermakova also emphasized that the structures of the Belarusian banking system constantly work under agreements with foreign banks, where they can always replenish with the necessary currency. "However, making huge reserves just like that, diverting and freezing resources is impossible, as it is impractical and unwise," explained the Chairperson of the bank's board. Touching upon the reasons that provoked the hype around currency, Nadezhda Ermakova noted that the active demand for monetary resources occurred on weekends, when banks have shortened working days, some are closed, and the cash collection service was not operating. Among such reasons, the Chairperson of the Board of Belarusbank also cited inflated rumors about the devaluation of the national currency and the situation that arose due to the introduction of import customs duties on cars from July 1. "The reaction was a mass rush of the population to buy cars, for which people withdrew their deposits from banks. This was followed by a chain reaction: seeing the queues at exchange offices, others also decided to withdraw their savings just in case," stated Nadezhda Ermakova. "There is no particular fear about what is happening now; time will pass, and everyone will calm down and bring their money back to the banks," concluded Nadezhda Ermakova. -0-

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