Head of the Monetary Policy Department at the Gaidar Institute, Evgeny Goryunov, commented on the structure of Russians’ savings and the impact of “rainy day” savings on the economy.
According to the expert, the widespread view that such savings supposedly “do not enter the economy” is not entirely accurate. What matters most is the form in which citizens hold their funds.
“If savings are held in bank deposits or bonds, they certainly contribute to the economy and can be considered active. These funds are used for lending and financing investments. Accumulations in cash, gold, or foreign currency can be called passive, since they do not participate in financing productive activities,” explained Evgeny Goryunov.
The economist noted that the growth of ruble savings can in itself be viewed as a positive signal for the financial system.
“If people are building up savings ‘for a rainy day’ specifically in rubles, this indicates relatively high confidence in the national currency. A much more alarming signal would be a situation in which the bulk of such savings were flowing into foreign currency or gold,” he emphasized.
At the same time, Evgeny Goryunov believes that an increase in the volume of such savings is unlikely to become a significant factor for macroeconomic dynamics as a whole.