BANKING & FINANCE - April 6, 1996

Convertible Rubles Planned: Russia will soon make its currency fully convertible, according to its central bank chief, Sergei Dubinin. He said Russia in the next few months will sign Article Eight of the International Monetary Fund charter, in which members agree not to impose restrictions on payments and transfers for current account transactions-essentially foreign trade-and not to operate multiple currency regimes. In practice, the move would make it easier for importers to obtain hard currency and for exporters to retain their earnings. Economists and exporters welcomed Dubinin’s comments, but bankers said that signing the article would have no immediate impact.