Businesses began to wait for the Central Bank's key rate cut on September 12.

Businesses lose up to 8 trillion rubles a year due to the high key interest rate, which will be reduced at the next meeting of the Central Bank. This was stated by Alexander Kalinin, head of the Opora Russia NGO, at the session of the Eastern Economic Forum 2025 (WEF 2025) "SMEs in the Far East: Small Business – great Potential" on September 4. According to him, entrepreneurs are waiting for the Central Bank to decide on a new reduction on September 12.

"If the loans were not tied to a floating rate, we would have somehow survived this. But when they were automatically raised after a sharp increase in the key rate, the business began to lose about 8 trillion rubles a year in additional costs that no one had planned," Kalinin said.

According to him, this situation first led to a deterioration in the mutual settlements of large and small businesses, and eventually to a decrease in revenue.

"Of course, we are waiting for a reduction in the key rate. The Central Bank will hold a meeting on this issue on September 12. We believe that the reduction step should be broad enough to stop these negative business trends," Kalinin explained.

Key rate 2025: forecast in September, expert opinion

Economists expect that at the Central Bank meeting on September 12, the decline in an important indicator will continue.

Earlier in the day, Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), announced that the Central Bank would lower its key interest rate next week.

Prior to that, on September 3, Kalinin said that in order to maintain investment growth in Russia, it was necessary to reduce the rate or support it through leasing. He noted that leasing can be supported not by the budget, but by the instruments of the Central Bank.

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