Venezuela Orders New Reserve Requirements for Banks

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuela’s Central Bank ordered banks to adhere to additional reserve requirements starting this month.

In a statement posted on it website Tuesday, the bank said new requirements must be applied to excess reserves coming in after Aug. 31. The measure, which is expected to be published in the official gazette in the coming days, didn’t provide additional details.

Central Bank President Calixto Ortega said in a televised address on Monday the measures were meant to fight inflation and stabilize prices. Ortega originally said the legal reserve requirement would be increased to 100 percent, that information was corrected in the bank’s statement today and the Central Bank deleted a tweet attributed to him on Monday afternoon.

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