Russian banks in August announced the introduction of commissions for servicing accounts in euros. Among them are Gazprombank, Alfa and Bank Saint Petersburg, Izvestia found out.
At the same time, no commission is charged for opening and maintaining foreign currency accounts in Sberbank, VTB, MKB, UniCredit, Raiffeisen, Sovcombank, Zenit, UBRiR, Absolut Bank, Sovcombank, Home Credit, Crimean RNKB, Bank Dom .РФ “and Citibank.
However, analysts expect that the number of credit institutions that will introduce an analogue of negative rates in the next three years will grow.
Earlier, commissions for servicing in euros were introduced by small banks, later the grandees of the financial industry joined in, recalled Gennady Salych, Chairman of the Board of Freedom Finance Bank. According to his forecasts, the rate in the eurozone will remain at a minimum level for another three years, and during this time the majority of Russian banks will introduce certain restrictions for holders of accounts in euros.
Since the beginning of 2020, the European currency has risen by 5% against the dollar, and by 30% against the Russian ruble, Salych estimated. He noted that this is several times more than a classic ruble deposit brings in a year.
“Clients are ready to pay extra to keep their savings in euros. Renting a cell for storing currency in cash is an expensive thing, and keeping it at home is unsafe, ”the specialist explained.
According to experts, despite the commissions and near-zero profitability on savings accounts and deposits in foreign currency, euros and dollars for Russians are an opportunity to save money in the face of a weakening ruble.
Read the full story in the exclusive Izvestia article:
Tariff network: banks began to introduce commissions for maintaining accounts in euros