Sberbank clients withdrew $1.2 billion from their accounts due to threat of sanctions

Sberbank suffered more than other Russian banks from the outflow of foreign currency from the accounts of private depositors in August, writes Bloomberg. This could be due to the fears of clients about the safety of their savings due to the possible fall of the state-owned bank under US sanctions.

Details

• According to the results of August, depositors withdrew $1.5 billion from all Russian banks, Sberbank accounted for the largest outflow - $1.2 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations based on data from the consulting company Frank RG. Thus, the amount of currency on the deposits of the state bank fell to a three-year low.
• The flight of foreign currency depositors could be related to fears that new US sanctions could lead to a freeze in dollar payments from Russian state-owned banks.
• The press service of Sberbank told the publication that the loss of $1 billion, given that the bank's foreign exchange balance is estimated at $94-95 billion, is "the result of a controlled evolution of the bank's balance sheet."

Context

• The reason for the reduction in foreign currency deposits is the fear of their freezing due to new US sanctions, is sure Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa Bank, . The anxiety of clients of state-owned banks is understandable - throughout August, the market discussed the possibility of imposing tough US sanctions against them, which could freeze dollar payments to state-owned banks.
• In September, the outflow of dollar deposits may accelerate - customers should have been impressed by the statements of the head of VTB Andrei Kostin, who directly allowed the forced conversion of foreign currency deposits into rubles. Even the comments of the head of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina and Dmitry Peskov , that they are not considering the possibility of forced conversion of foreign currency deposits into rubles, are of little reassurance. Kostin had in mind not just a forced conversion, he said that in the event of the imposition of sanctions, the bank is considering the possibility of paying in rubles to customers who want to close their dollar accounts.
• Experts interviewed by The Bell stressed that such a scenario is extremely unpleasant for the bank's clients, since many people make foreign currency deposits in order to hedge foreign exchange risks associated with a possible devaluation of the ruble. Even if deposits are paid in rubles at the current exchange rate, depositors will lose “within a percentage,” Yury Gribanov, CEO of Frank Research Group, explained to The Bell.
• However, the head of Sberbank German Gref assured clients that the bank does not plan to convert foreign currency deposits into rubles: “There is no need for such options, they are not considered and have not been considered in any even the most terrible scenarios.”

Liana Faizova