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6.2 Debt
The accumulated volume of the external debt of the Russian Federation as of July 1 was $477.2bn, according to the Bank of Russia estimates, having decreased by $14.2bn since the beginning of the year.
The gap between the excess cash in the gross international reserves vs the total external debt continues to grow wider. Gross reserves are currently some $100bn more than Russia’s entire external debt as of July.
The dynamics of the indicator was largely influenced by the banking sector's operations to reduce debt to non-residents. The impact of the revaluation was also noticeable, which led to a significant decrease in the external debt of all sectors of the economy at the end of the 1st quarter of this year due to the depreciation of the Russian ruble and the subsequent gradual recovery of debt levels as volatility in the foreign exchange market decreases and the Russian currency strengthens.
Banks' foreign debt continues to decrease, now $72bn - was $214bn in March 2014. Sanctions have to large extent decoupled Russian banks from global capital markets. Other sectors' debt very stable since mid-2015.
58 RUSSIA Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com
