OREANDA-NEWS Since February 28, the Bank of Russia has temporarily banned brokers from selling securities on behalf of foreign clients. This was reported by RIA Novosti with reference to the data of the regulator. Earlier, the Central Bank decided to temporarily prohibit brokers from conducting short sales (shorting) on the Russian securities, commodities or currency market in order to protect the rights of investors.

"From February 28, 2022, the Bank of Russia introduces a temporary ban for brokers to execute transactions on the sale of securities on behalf of non-residents," the Central Bank agency quoted.

Prior to that, the Central Bank temporarily banned brokers from conducting short sales (shorting) on the Russian securities, commodities or currency market in order to protect the rights of investors. Short sales are speculative operations that involve making money on the decline in the value of securities and the exchange rate.

The Secret also announced an increase in the key rate by the Central Bank to 20%. According to representatives of the regulator, an increase in the key rate will make deposits in banks more profitable. This will help the population to compensate for the risks.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation in Ukraine. The West reacted to this with large-scale sanctions that affected various sectors of the Russian economy.