According to a recent report by the Russian central bank, Russian households have reduced their savings kept in currencies other than the ruble to their lowest level in more than ten years.

Since last year, there has been a steady decline in the share of foreign currency kept in savings in the private accounts of Russian citizens, reaching down to $63.4 billion by the beginning of October. There was a further decline of $3.7 billion by early November, at which point just 9.4% of household savings were comprised of foreign currencies, according to the central bank.

It marks the lowest level seen since 2012, when the non-ruble deposits of Russian citizens added up to a total of $69.2 billion, according to the data.

Analysts say the decline in foreign currency holdings by Russian citizens is attributable to the strengthening of the ruble, as well as higher deposit rates.

Egor Suslov, the managing director at Gazprombank Private Banking said, “A shift from foreign currencies in deposits is happening partly due to the withdrawal from ‘toxic’ currencies into the ruble, partly due to the transfer to the yuan, and partly due to transfers of currency to accounts and deposits in foreign banks.”

Since early last year, there has been a sharp increase in the outflow of foreign currency from Russian bank accounts, due to a surge in transfers to foreign banks. The Bank of Russia placed restrictions on transfers to foreign banks last March, to support the Russian economy by stifling the outflow of capital which was being driven by the threat of Western sanctions.

Since the start of 2023, data from the regulator showed that balances on foreign currency deposits have fallen by nearly 40%, or $36.4 billion.