Belarus ‘Can’t Avoid’ Devaluing Ruble, Sberbank’s Gref Says

Belarus will be forced to devalue the ruble because of the country’s widening current-account gap and its falling gold and currency reserves, according to OAO Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender.

“The government won’t be able to avoid a devaluation of the currency, though this will be very good for the economy,” German Gref, Sberbank’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. Moscow-based Sberbank owns BPS Bank, Belarus’s third-biggest lender by assets.