Funds of Russians in banks in 2022 increased due to social payments

© Igor Samokhvalov/PG

December social payments led to an influx of funds from the population in Russian banks. This follows their report from the Bank of Russia on the situation in the banking sector in 2022.

It follows from the review that at the end of the year, the funds of individuals increased by 6.9%, while in 2021 the figure was 5.7%. The Central Bank attributes this to the payment of a significant amount of social benefits in December, as well as the advance payment of pensions for January 2023. According to the calculations of the Bank of Russia, we are talking about 2.5 trillion rubles.

Without taking into account this factor, funds of individuals would have decreased by 0.2 trillion rubles, due to outflows in January-March and September-October, the regulator believes. In addition, the Central Bank recorded an increase in citizens’ funds in non-resident banks, the volume of which increased almost three times, to 6.6 trillion rubles.

The growth of ruble funds on current accounts increased by 17.2% (1.8 trillion rubles), on deposits – by 18.2% (3.1 trillion rubles). Foreign currency accounts for 2022, on the contrary, decreased significantly due to the conversion of funds into rubles. Thus, the decrease was 41% or 38 US dollars.

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The report also points to the active growth of household funds in yuan, but the share of the Chinese currency in the volume of all funds remains insignificant. Meanwhile, in 2023, the Central Bank expects an increase in household funds above the level of 2022, provided that confidence in the banking sector is maintained.