In February, the number of open deposits increased by 6% per month and by 175% year-on-year, Finuslugi calculated. At the same time, the annual increase in January was even higher — 209%. Izvestia investigated what explains such dynamics of demand for deposit banking products, how long it will last and whether it is possible to judge from these data on the growth of the well-being of Russians.
The main tool
The growth in the number of open deposits is primarily related to the attractiveness of this tool for saving and increasing capital, says Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult. In her opinion, this is indirectly indicated by the record low share of cash in the hands of Russians, only 15% of the total money supply.
— In addition, according to the Bank of Russia, the number of accounts with near—zero balances on the stock exchange has increased to 89.5% — Russians have transferred all funds from the stock exchange to a more reliable form - deposits. According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Russians currently hold 60 trillion rubles in deposits," she added.
Vladimir Eremkin, a senior researcher at the IPEI Structural Research Laboratory of the Presidential Academy, draws attention to the effect of a low base in estimating growth.
"In February 2024, the maximum interest rates on deposits in rubles did not exceed 15%, whereas in February of this year they were at the level of about 21%," he says.
The expert also noted the seasonality factor: "Right now, the deadlines for placing the first deposits opened at 19% and above are coming to an end. Depositors are re-depositing funds received under expired contracts."
The dynamics of citizens' incomes, the level of interest rates offered by banks and the growth of financial literacy are the three main factors in the growth of citizens' savings using deposit instruments, says Dmitry Desyatnichenko, head of the Economics educational program at the Presidential Academy in St. Petersburg.
— This is an important anti-inflationary factor for the economy as a whole, since in the short term there is a decrease in the pressure of effective demand on commodity markets. At the same time, the convenience of a deposit is to provide guaranteed and, in fact, risk—free returns when placing less than 1.4 million rubles in one bank," he says.
Financial advisor, lecturer at the Russian Society "Znanie" (ROZ) Alexander Kuznetsov explains the popularity of investor deposits by the lack of alternative secure financial instruments.
— The logic is simple: get as much as possible without risks. At the same time, money on deposits does not give much of a real sense of enrichment due to high inflation and the mild devaluation of the ruble. Not everyone can buy real estate, and corporate bonds are comparable to bank rates and are not protected from falling prices or non—payment of coupons," he said in an interview with Izvestia.
Svetlana Zubkova, Associate Professor of the Department of Banking and Monetary Regulation at the Financial University, attributes the increase in the number of deposits opened through electronic services primarily to an increase in public confidence in them, along with more favorable conditions for opening deposits than directly in banks.
— So far, the Bank of Russia has not published statistics on attracting deposits from individuals in the banking sector as a whole. January statistics show a slight decrease from 57.5 trillion to 56.9 trillion rubles, which is explained by New Year's Eve expenses and long holiday weekends," she says.
It's on the decline
The Bank of Russia kept its key rate at 21% twice in a row, in December and February. Nevertheless, banks have already begun to reduce deposit yields, says Yulia Makarenko, Deputy Director of the Banking Development Institute.
— Now the inflow of funds to banks is incomparably higher than the outflow in the form of consumer and mortgage loans. And against the background of expectations of monetary policy easing in the next few months, money now turns out to be more expensive than money later. This bias provoked a revision of tariffs on deposit yields to a lesser extent. Also, the largest banks have begun to reduce rates on market mortgages," Makarenko believes.
According to Svetlana Zubkova, the population is also exhausting its savings opportunities. "Despite the increase in household incomes and the still—stable deposit rates, the dynamics of deposit growth is clearly slowing down," the expert summarizes.
— With the current key interest rate at 21%, high savings activity of the population remains, which, together with the growth of incomes of Russians, leads to an increase in funds in banks. As rates decrease, we should expect this money to be returned to the economy," Dmitry Gritskevich believes.
Dmitry Desyatnichenko attributes the increase in depositor activity in February to signals that the current deposit rates are at their peak. This means that a gradual reversal of the PREP vector is likely next, a transition to a phase of lowering the key rate and a further reduction in bank deposit rates.
— Therefore, supporters of conservative savings strategies are now striving to fix high returns for 6-9 months, which is quite rational and justified, — explains the expert.
Are Russians getting richer
The growth in the number of open deposits is not an indicator of the well-being of the population, believes Vladimir Eremkin.
— The amount of funds deposited by individuals, calculated in monetary terms, is much more important. So, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on February 1, 2025, there was a small outflow of funds from deposits," he said.
The ability to make savings is just an indirect proof of the well—being of Russians, the interlocutor of Izvestia is sure. However, there are more accurate meters. For example, the dynamics of real disposable income of the population, taking into account the cost of covering mandatory payments and inflation. Rosstat estimated an increase in the real disposable income of the population by 7.3% in 2024, which is a record value over the past 10 years.
— Based on the totality of indicators, it can be argued that the average well—being of the population is growing, but, unfortunately, this growth is unevenly distributed among different categories of citizens, so there are a large number of people who do not observe income growth on their own example, - concludes Eremkin.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and a number of large banks, but no responses had been received by the time the material was released.
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