OREANDA-NEWS. September 16, 2009. The Bank of Latvia Council resolved not to change the interest rates set by the Bank of Latvia or the reserve requirement, reported the press-centre of Bank of Latvia.

Both lending and deposit rates set by the central bank are at a low level following the decisions made in the period between March and May, whereas the minimum reserve ratio was reduced when economic cooling started. It is a precondition for the activity in the lats interbank money market and a motivation for banks to channel their resources into financing the economy.
While the macroeconomic imbalances that emerged in the years of economic overheating are progressively easing, further growth of financial markets and the real economy does, to a great extent, depend on the budget for 2010 and its planning and approval process. The latter should proceed smoothly and at a good speed so as to avoid market strains, outflows of foreign investment and reserves, and substantial fluctuations of the lats interest rates.

The Bank of Latvia Council adopted a new "Regulation for Compiling Interest Rate Reports of Monetary Financial Institutions (it will take effect on 1 June 2010), which is a revised version (both in terms of contents and form) of the former regulation adopted in 2003. The changes will affect the range of respondents and the frequency of submitting data by a certain group of respondents, thus optimising the information-providing load on respondents. In the future, credit unions which are part of the range of respondents will compile and submit the report on a quarterly basis (currently all respondents report on a monthly basis).
The purpose of the regulation is to receive information for compiling the interest rate statistics in order to ensure the implementation of the monetary policy of the Bank of Latvia and the European Central Bank and the macroeconomic forecasting, and to inform the general public and international institutions on interest rate developments in the Republic of Latvia.

The Bank of Latvia Council approved the "Regulation for Compiling Reports on Securities" (it will take effect on 1 April 2010) to replace the "Regulation for Compiling the 'Monthly Report of Holders of Securities'" approved in 2007. The new regulation provides for compiling data also on the securities without International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) held by banks, branches of foreign banks or investment brokerage companies and their customers.
The purpose of the Regulation is to receive information that would enable the compiling and publishing of the national balance of payments and international investment position statistics, financial account statistics, and other financial intermediaries statistics in line with the international standards and legislation of the European Central Bank.

The Bank of Latvia Council made amendments to the "Regulation on Participation in the Securities Settlement System of the Bank of Latvia"(to take effect on 1 October 2009), providing for a more elaborate solution of issues related to changes in the status of the participant in the securities settlement system of the Bank of Latvia.