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Russians withdrew 21% more foreign currency in 2020 than in 2019
The amount reached $28 billion.
This follows from the data of the Bank of Russia, cited by the Izvestia newspaper. The peak of withdrawals was reported in March and December, when Russians withdrew $4billion and $ 3billion, respectively.
The increase in withdrawal volumes was confirmed by Home Credit, Dom.RF and Rosbank. According to the latter, cash withdrawal figures were at an average level in the first two months of 2020. The situation began to change in March, the newspaper informs with reference to Pavel Ignatkin, the head of cash and collection services at Rosbank. Then the FRS and European banks lowered interest rates, which made foreign currency deposits unattractive. As a result, citizens began to withdraw funds from deposits in foreign currency.
Stanislav Duzhinsky, an analyst at Home Credit Bank, attributes the increase in cash withdrawals to the ruble fall caused by the oil prices dive. During the periods of falling ruble, the demand for foreign currency grows, and Russians preferred to keep their money in cash because of low rates.
Source: Izvestia