Kontrowersyjny pomysł blokady oszczędności Rosjan w bankach budzi sprzeciw.

Andriej Kostin, head of one of the largest banks in Russia, VTB, was part of the delegation of the Russian Prime Minister during a visit to Vietnam. During the summit talks – as reported by „The Moscow Times” – he addressed the recurring threat of freezing Russian bank deposits.

Inflation in Russia is on the rise

The idea did not come from an anonymous shady internet forum. Such a possibility was mentioned in November during a radio broadcast by Alexey Zubets, the director of the Institute of Socio-Economic Studies at the Financial University in Russia. He explained that Russians have accumulated significant sums in deposits, taking advantage of record high interest rates. If the Central Bank were to start reducing these rates, people would rush to banks to withdraw their money and put it into circulation. According to Zubets, authorities could then decide to freeze deposits in full or in part, to prevent such a cash flood from causing rampant inflation and worsening the economic situation.

Andriej Kostin, while explaining the possibility of freezing deposits, said it would be a very unpopular and illogical move. In his opinion, there are no reasons to implement such measures. Nevertheless, there seem to be some concerns in society, as the Russian Central Bank also addressed the issue during a meeting on January 13, deciding to keep interest rates unchanged. So far, Russians seem to be suffering a severe defeat in the fight against inflation. The country’s statistical office announced on Wednesday that inflation had risen by 9.52% over the year, with food prices not being so high in 15 years.

The Bank, in a statement, assured that the idea of freezing deposits is „nonsense,” and that citizens’ savings are already working for the economy, as they allow banks to finance borrowers. The Bank also announced that the next interest rate cut, depending on the economic situation, will occur in 2025 or 2026.
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