Page 71 - RusRPTJun19
P. 71
8.1.7 Banks specific issues
Russian banks have deleverage over the last five years reducing their external debt from a peak of $209bn in 2007 down to $82bn as of May 2019. Where banks used to fund their operations by borrowing Eurobonds and other wholesale international financing, these days they rely almost entirely only their deposits.
About 65% of Russian families have no savings, Russian independent pollster the Levada Center said as cited by RBC business portal, while the number has remained unchanged since 2012. The survey shows that only families with high incomes, mostly in large cities, can afford to save. Average savings stand at RUB140,000-RUB219,000 ($2,160-$3,385), while the savings of 50% of the families do not exceed RUB56,500 ($873). This is below RUB78,000 which is an average monthly income for a family of three required for "normal life". For 20% of the families with the lowest income of up to RUB20,000 the average savings do not exceed RUB55,000, while for the wealthiest families the average can reach RUB484,000. A third (32%) of the
71 RUSSIA Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com
