Page 132 - RusRPTJun24

8.1.3 Deposits
Corporate funds in Russian banks saw a significant increase of 2.7 trillion rubles (+5.0%) in April, following a 1.6% outflow in March. However, this growth is temporary, attributed to the deferral of tax payments for April and the first quarter of 2024 to early May. According to preliminary data, approximately 2 trillion rubles left company accounts in the first five days of May. Adjusting for the taxes paid in early May, the net inflow of corporate funds would have been 0.6 trillion rubles (+1.1%).
The increase was primarily driven by ruble-denominated funds, while the inflow of foreign currency holdings was moderate (+$1.2 billion, +112 billion rubles in ruble terms, +1.0%).
Households continued to actively deposit their funds with banks (+2.1% vs +1.9% in March). Mainly ruble-denominated time deposits were growing. Such deposits remain popular owing to high rates. The amount of corporate funds soared (+5.0%) after an outflow in March (-1.6%). However, this increase was temporary and related to the shift of the tax payment period from late April to early May.
Household deposits in Russian banks saw an active influx of 1.0 trillion rubles (+2.1%) in April, following a 1.9% increase in March, driven by attractive deposit rates.
Ruble-denominated deposits were the main contributors to this growth, increasing by 1.026 trillion rubles (+2.4%), while foreign currency deposits saw a moderate decline (-35 billion rubles in ruble equivalent, -0.9%).
The rise in ruble deposits was primarily seen in term deposits, which grew by 853 billion rubles (+3.0%). According to our estimates, around 200 billion rubles of this increase can be attributed to monthly interest earnings on deposits. This growth was supported by the maintenance of favourable deposit rates (14.92% at the end of April, 14.83% at the end of March). The inflow into current accounts also remained strong, matching March levels (+172 billion rubles, +1.2% after +1.3% in March).
The growth in escrow account balances accelerated, reaching 124 billion rubles (+2.2% after +1.7% in March), aligning with the average monthly increase seen in 2023 (+129 billion rubles). The primary reason for this was a decrease in the volume of completed construction projects, leading to a reduction in the amount of escrow account releases (an estimated 268 billion rubles in April compared to 297 billion rubles in March), while maintaining a high level of mortgage issuances.
The number of VIP clients at Russian banks increased 1.5 times this year,
according to calculations by consulting firm Frank RG. There were 17,700 wealthy clients (those with combined funds of 3.7 trillion rubles in Russian banks) and 4,100 very wealthy clients (with capital worth 9.4 trillion – this figure is up 68% from last year). The number of bank clients with capital of at least 100 billion rubles in Russian is up 50% from last year. In 2023, the capital of
132 RUSSIA Country Report June 2024 www.intellinews.com