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Russia’s Central Bank reports stabilizing state of citizens’ bank deposits in March
Household deposits in Russian banks decreased by a moderate 236 billion rubles (-0.7%) in March, which indicates a stabilization of the situation after a large-scale outflow in February, appears from a review of the Bank of Russia.
The Central Bank notes that ruble deposits and accounts grew by 0.6 trillion rubles in March, mostly driven by high interest rates offered for term deposits. The outflow from foreign currency accounts amounted to about $9.8 billion gradually decreased in March to come to naught in early April.
Lending slowed, with the corporate portfolio and consumer lending down 0.3% and 1.9%, respectively. Mortgage has not yet slowed down (growth of about 2%) due to the state mortgage programs and the issuance under previously approved transactions.
The Central Bank notes that only foreign currency balances on the household accounts saw a decrease in March (by $9.8 billion, or by 818 billion rubles), while in the second half of the month the outflow slowed down significantly, due to, inter alia, restrictions on foreign currency withdrawals introduced on March 9.
Public funds in Russian banks increased by 3.2 trillion rubles (+68.4%) in March, mainly in the form of deposits of the Federal Treasury and constituent entities of the Russian Federation.