The Central Bank of Russia in Moscow. Banking officials said it may be time to embrace domestic credit rating options. File Photo by DyMax/Shutterstock. MOSCOW, April 8 (UPI) — As low oil prices and Western-backed economic sanctions hammer Russia, the head of the central bank said it was time to embrace domestic rating agencies. A draft law regulating Russian credit rating agencies was introduced in February as economic problems became more evident. Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said at a banking conference in Moscow it was time to develop more credit autonomy . “We are thinking about gradually moving away from international ratings and developing our own ratings industry with Russian agencies,” she said Wednesday. Ratings agency Moody’s in February lowered its assessment of seven Russian financial institutions, including the banking arm of Gazprom, because of the expectation of a “prolonged recessionary environment,” in the Russian economy. The downgrade […]