The population converts savings into a non-cash form
Depositors preferred ruble accounts and bank deposits. During the 1st half of the year they increased almost by RUB1 trillion (46% more than in the previous year), while deposits in foreign currency accounts amounted to the equivalent of RUB120 billion (29% less than in the previous year).
At the same time in the first half of 2013 the growth of cash assets slowed down considerably and foreign currency volumes decreased. During the six months the M0 money supply increased by RUB40 billion, which is 38% less than in the first half of 2012.
According to the balance of payments the volume of foreign currency in cash in the Russian economy decreased by USD4.3 billion in the six months, while a year earlier a growth of USD1.2 billion was recorded. At the same time, net purchase of foreign currency in cash by the population from banks showed a decrease. During the first six months of 2013 the population purchased foreign currency from banks for the amount of USD6 billion, compared to USD12 billion in the previous year.
According to Rosstat the nominal value of the population's income in the first half of 2013 (RUB19.8 trillion) increased by 12.5% and the nominal value of disposable income increased by 12.0%. These ratios evidence the increased volume of savings in bank accounts. In the first months of 2013 the population left 6.3% of their disposable income on bank accounts, which is 1 p.p. higher than in the previous year (5.3%). On the contrary, taking into account cash dynamics, the population's saving rate decreased from 6.0 p.p. in the first half of 2012 to 5.7 p.p. in the first half of the current year.
The growth of repayments on bank loans can be named as one of the factors causing the reduction of the saving rate. Repayment of principal amounts of loans in accordance with repayment schedules in the first half of 2013 (RUB1.3 trillion) grew by 26% compared to the previous year and the ratio of the same to disposable income grew by 0.8 p.p. from 6.5 to 7.3.
M.Yu.Khromov, Leading Expert of the Center for Structural Research
Thursday, 08.08.2013