Reserve requirement

Reserve requirement is an instrument of the National Bank's monetary policy, which obliges the banks and savings houses to allocate funds on the accounts with the central bank. Main functions of the instrument are stabilization of the short-term interest rates on the money market, managing the money supply and the level of credit multiplication and reduction of the structural excess liquidity.

Reserve requirement base encompasses the banks' liabilities in domestic currency, in domestic currency with FX clause and in foreign currency and the savings houses' liabilities in domestic currency and in domestic currency with FX clause.  Reserve requirement base is determined as an average of the liabilities for each day of the calendar month which is determined as the basis in the Indicative calendar. 

Banks' reserve requirement in Denars is a sum of the amount calculated from the liabilities in domestic currency and 15% of the amount calculated from the liabilities in foreign currency. Banks fulfill the reserve requirement in Denars on average basis. When determining the reserve requirement in Denars, the basis for reserve requirement from the banks' liabilities in domestic currency is reduced by the amount of claims based on newly approved loans to legal entities intended for financing projects for the construction of new facilities or for increasing the installed capacity of the existing facilities for domestic production of electricity from renewable sources. The reserve requirements in denars is fulfilled by the banks at an average level, from the assets of the banks' accounts with the National Bank.

Banks' reserve requirement in foreign currency is 85% of the amount calculated from the liabilities in foreign currency and 100% of the amount calculated from the liabilities in domestic currency with FX clause. Banks' reserve requirement in foreign currency is fulfilled: 85% in euros on a fixed level allocated on special FX accounts of the National Bank abroad and 15% in euros on an average level on the foreign exchange account in euros in MIPS. 

Savings houses reserve requirement in Denars is calculated from liabilities in domestic currency and liabilities in domestic currency with a currency clause. Saving houses fulfill the reserve requirement on special accounts with the National Bank at a fixed level.

The reserve requirement fulfillment periods are specified in the Indicative calendar of fulfillment periods of Denar and Euro reserve requirement for banks and saving houses.

Banks' and saving houses reserve requirement ratios are presented in the table below:

*starting from 11.01.2012, 0% reserve requirement rate was applied on liabilities to natural persons in domestic currency with contractual maturity of over two years.

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Data on reserve requirement  

Indicative calendar of reserve requirement maintenance periods in 2024