our today ’ s meeting we have decided to cut the key rate by 50 bp to 5. 50 % per annum. we continue to see the potential for the further easing of monetary policy at our next meetings. i would also like to note that, given the key rate change, we have decided to cut from 4. 0 % to 3. 5 % per annum the interest rate under the new bank of russia ’ s sme lending support facility introduced several weeks ago. we believe this will help to additionally improve the affordability of loans for small and medium - sized enterprises, which were affected the most by hardships. and a few words in conclusion. the current situation specifically requires timely and even forward - looking decisions so that we are able not only to curb negative trends in the economy, but also to set grounds for a faster normalisation of the economic situation after the withdrawal of the restrictions. this will influence both inflation dynamics and the economy recovery path. therefore, the bank of russia is monitoring the effects of its earlier decisions promptly and on an ongoing basis, and stands ready to take further steps, both in the monetary policy sphere and in the areas of its activity. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

the oil price exceeds the cut - off level, the current account balance will return to positive territory and the accumulation of reserves will be resumed via fiscal rule - based foreign currency purchases. we do not expect a noticeable change in the private sector financial account balance over the forecast horizon. according to our estimates, the private sector financial account deficit will reduce from usd 18 billion in 2019 to usd 15 billion this year. this is linked to decline in gdp, decrease in economic revenues, as well as less possibilities for borrowing in foreign markets at the end of the first quarter — the start of the second quarter amid intensified volatility and uncertainty. further ahead, as global markets stabilise, the potential for external bollowings will recover and this will pass through to a reduction in the private sector financial account deficit to usd 10 billion in 2021 – 2022. this baseline scenario, without doubt, has many uncertainty factors. they concern both the duration of the restrictions in russia and worldwide, and the pace of recovery of the global and russian economies. besides, new spikes of volatility may occur in global financial and commodity markets. therefore, in our discussions of the key rate decision and its path, we have a proper regard to the objective of sustaining financial stability. as i noted, the baseline forecast incorporates only the fiscal decisions already made by the government. we assume that further on the situation may require additional decisions to support the economy. this will foster an alleviation of effects of the restrictions for households and businesses, accelerate the return of economic activity to normal, and also mitigate the risks of inflation deviation downwards from the target over the next quarters. in the course of our key rate discussions, we considered model estimates of the influence of such additional fiscal measures on gdp, inflation and the monetary policy path. we will certainly consider possible developments in fiscal policy, in the russian and global economies in the course of further adjustments of our baseline scenario. nonetheless, our current analysis suggests that virtually all possible scenario variants allow for monetary policy easing, including amid a certain additional expansion of fiscal measures designed to support the economy. the board of directors proceeds from the existing potential for cutting the key rate and discussed possible options at the current and next meetings. the discussion concluded that given such extraordinary developments, it may not prove sufficient to adjust our policy by employing the small - step method we used. to return inflation to the target and stabilise the situation in the economy, we may need to implement more decisive measures. at