Offer of Vienna to Biden and Putin, a credit card record. Highlights of the night

Austria is ready to host the Putin-Biden summit, credit card rates have fallen to a minimum in three years, HSE economists have proposed changing the budget rule, eight banks have launched contactless payment key fobs - in a review by RBC

Austria announced its readiness to accept Putin and Biden

Austria is always ready to become a platform for high-level talks between Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, the country's Foreign Ministry said.

“If RUSSIA and the United States decide to hold a summit at the level of presidents, this is commendable,” the department said. Russian-American arms control talks are traditionally held in the capital of Austria. On the eve of Biden and Putin talked on the phone, and the US president suggested that his colleague meet in the coming months in some "third country" to discuss the relationship between the two states. The White House also said the presidents discussed Ukraine, hacking, election meddling, and arms control.

Interest rates on credit cards have fallen, and demand for them has grown

Credit card rates fell to their lowest level since October 2018, to 24.9%, according to statistics from the United Credit Bureau. They traditionally exceed the key rate, since this segment has the highest level of overdue debt, it is the most risky for banks.

The decrease in interest rates on credit cards occurred simultaneously with a noticeable increase in their issuance. In March, Russian banks issued 1.2 million credit cards for 81.5 billion rubles. This is 14.5% more than in March last year and the most notable increase since the spring of 2019. The growth in the issuance of credit cards may indicate a general acceleration in consumer activity, although it is important to take into account the size of limits on cards, say experts interviewed by RBC. The average limit on credit cards is also growing - “good” borrowers with a high scoring score are gradually returning to the market, and banks are increasing the level of approval of card applications. At the same time, in Russia as a whole, the share of non-cash payments in the first quarter of 2021 amounted to 59.4%, having updated the historical maximum, calculated in Sberbank and OFD Platform. This is the biggest increase since 2018.

HSE Economists Suggest Changing the Fiscal Rule

Experts from the Higher School of Economics (HSE) suggested considering the possibility of changing the budget rule in Russia, which has been in force since 2017, so that it allows increasing budget spending in difficult times. The proposal was presented in a report prepared under the guidance of Natalia Akindinova at a conference at the university.

The budget rule determines how the National Wealth Fund (NWF) is replenished: the Ministry of Finance buys currency for the NWF at oil pricesabove $40 per barrel in 2017 prices and sells if prices are lower. Also, the budget rule limits the marginal budget expenditures for the year: if the country's oil and gas revenues are below the baseline, money is taken from the “seed” – the shortage is made up by the NWF. During the pandemic, the Ministry of Finance temporarily deviated from the budget rule in terms of the marginal spending formula in order to stimulate the economy: in 2020, 2 trillion rubles were spent. more than the rule allowed. According to HSE economists, it would be reasonable to include in the formula for federal budget expenditures, in addition to oil prices, an additional indicator that “will be positive if the dynamics of basic industries (as well as GDP and other indicators) are negative and negative if the dynamics are good.” This will ensure a higher level of budget spending while reducing non-oil and gas revenues,

What do they think about the work of the hard budget rule in the government and what other ideas are discussed by economists - in the detailed material of RBC:

Economists propose to change the budget rule in Russia Economics

Eight banks have issued key fobs for contactless payment

Zelenograd group ISBC, Mastercard and eight Russian banks have launched key fobs for contactless payment. The peculiarity of the project is that, within the framework of a joint project, customers will be able to link a Mastercard card of any participating bank to the device, remove it and connect a card of another bank. The project involves Alfa-Bank, Gazprombank, Otkritie Bank, Post Bank, MKB, Rosselkhozbank, Tatsotsbank and Promsvyazbank (PSB).

Key fobs, unlike cards and smartphones, do not need to be recharged, do not carry the owner's personal data or account details, are not afraid of water and can be blocked if lost without blocking a bank card, and the cost of such devices is much lower than the cost of smart watches or a smartphone with NFC -chip. In Russia, more than 70.3% of purchases are paid for by non-cash methods, so far mainly through bank cards and smartphones. This share will only grow, as will the market for various wearable devices for paying for purchases, experts say.

Read more about the technology and features of wearable devices in the RBC material.

What else happened during the night

The Latvian Foreign Ministry protested to the charge d'affaires of the Russian Embassy after reports that a member of the diplomatic mission was convicted of violating anti-coronavirus restrictions. Delfi published an article about the Russian military attache, which said that in late March he organized a party in violation of restrictions. The Verkhnyaya Pyshma COURT forbade citizens to stay and live on the territory of the Sredneuralsky Convent, whose confessor was the former shiigumen Sergius, who was arrested and excommunicated from the church. This is due to violations of the requirements during the construction of the monastery, because of which it can be dangerous to be there. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is going to put the wife of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Yulia, on a preventive register as "prone to committing administrative offenses." This status means

What events to watch today

The next meeting of the contact group on Donbass will be held in MINSK. The International Energy Agency (IEA) will publish a report on the oil market. From April 14, American companies will begin publishing quarterly financial reports. The first to report traditionally large banks: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs. All three reports will be released before the start of trading in the US, which starts at 16:30 Moscow time. Coinbase will be listed today - the company will enter the NASDAQ exchange and become the first public crypto exchange. The reference price of the shares, which will act as a guide for investors, is set at $250. What events to follow for an investor - in the selection of "RBC Investments".