All news
Kommersant: Deposit rates in Russia approach historical record
The average interest rate on deposits in Russia's largest bank has exceeded 20% per annum for the second time in history, approaching a historical record. This was reported by the Kommersant newspaper, which shares a general overview of the market situation.
"For the second time in history, the average maximum interest rate on deposits in Russia's largest banks has exceeded 20% per annum. "Experts believe that the historical record will be broken in early November," the newspaper reports.
The publication also reports that during the New Year promotions, rates risk reaching 30% per annum. Large financial institutions benefit from the ability to raise interest rates as their funding costs fall.
At the same time, smaller banks have practically stopped competing for deposits due to a decrease in lending activity. According to information from the Bank of Russia published in early November, the average maximum interest rate on deposits in large banks as of the third tenths of October 2024 reached 20.17% per annum. Only in the first 10 days of March 2022, this figure was higher - 20.51% per annum.
The interest rate hike is said to be in response to the central bank's recent hike in its benchmark interest rate by 2 percentage points to 21% at the end of October. Since the start of the year, the average deposit interest rate has risen by 5 percentage points, and has risen by 2.7 percentage points over the past two months. With the central bank continuing to raise its benchmark interest rate, deposit interest rates are expected to rise further and could surpass last year's record as early as November.