UrBC, Moscow, March 18, 2019. The amount of money Russians deposit with the banks rose by 1.6% in February 2019, even with all the adjustments made for the exchange rate fluctuations, the Central Bank of Russia’s review of the banking sector of the Russian Federation in January and February 2019 (available on the bank’s website) indicates.

According to the CBR, private customers kept placing a little more money with the banks in January and February 2019 than in the previous months. Interestingly, the increase in the amount of deposits in February completely made up for the seasonal outflow of money that is typical of January. With the exception of December’s rising inflow (which is normally even higher than in other months), the February increase has proven the two-year high. Businesses and organizations have been keeping increasingly more funds in their deposits and accounts later as well.

The Russian banks’ corporate loan book increased by 1.4% in January-February 2019, mostly in terms of its ruble-based components. The retail loan book went up by 2.6%. The trend for issuing loans in rubles rather than euros or dollars still continues.