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Putin Rejects Stagnation Claims as Sberbank Chief Urges Deep Rate Cuts

The public split raises pressure on the central bank before its Sept. 12 rate decision.

Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mongolian Prime Minister Zandanshatar Gombojav and Vice Chairman of China's National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee Li Hongzhong attend a plenary session of Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, September 5, 2025. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS
Sberbank's CEO German Gref is seen during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to an exhibition at AI Journey, an international conference on artificial intelligence technology, in Moscow, Russia December 11, 2024. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolskyi/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Vladimir Putin (R) and Sberbank President German Gref (L) seen during the conference of Sberbank in Moscow, Russia, on November,10, 2016.

Overview

  • Sberbank CEO German Gref said Russia’s economy is in stagnation and warned that only a cut in the key rate to about 12% would avert recession.
  • President Vladimir Putin disputed that assessment at the Eastern Economic Forum, defending tight monetary policy as necessary to curb inflation.
  • Russia’s key rate peaked at 21% in 2024 and stands at 18% after cuts in June and July, with annual inflation around 8.8% and a 4% target projected for 2026.
  • A recent central bank report included a graph indicating GDP contracted in two straight quarters, even as Putin praised the regulator’s credibility.
  • Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has flagged 2025 growth near 1.5%, while economists argue structural wartime constraints and labor shortages limit what rate cuts can achieve.