Banken: Geld lieber unter dem Kopfkissen: Russen heben offenbar Milliarden von ihren Bankkonten ab

Russian citizens and businesses are withdrawing billions from their bank accounts, fearing that the Kremlin could seize deposits to fund the war. The Washington Post reported on this issue, citing data from the Russian Central Bank and high-ranking financial officials. In the first two weeks of August alone, 286.4 billion rubles were withdrawn, while in July, around 630 billion rubles were taken out, and in June, more than 390 billion rubles were removed.

According to the Washington Post, this year's total outflows could surpass those of the first invasion year in 2022, which amounted to approximately 24.7 billion dollars. The withdrawals are causing liquidity problems for banks and undermining the Kremlin's ability to issue government bonds for war financing. The Finance Ministry has been forced to cancel planned emissions.

In the bond market, the interest rates for ten-year government securities have risen to 17 percent. Growing distrust among the population is leading people to carry cash in their pockets instead of keeping their money in banks, where it might not return. A former senior Russian financial official quoted by the Washington Post explained that for some banks, this is indeed a problem.

They had not anticipated such a massive outflow and have invested all the money elsewhere, yet people continue to withdraw half a billion rubles per month.