Foreign Banks Reject Russian Depositors

According to the outcome of a research conducted by the International Confederation of Consumer Societies, foreign banks are not interested in Russian depositors. While over the past two years the incomes of the citizens of Russia have consistently grown, now nearly reaching the pre-crisis level, the share of deposits made by general public in the overall resources of banks does not exceed 20%. Among other things, this is the result of Russovites' lack of trust for financial institutions. The inflow of reputable foreign capital could become a serious factor in the development of Russia's banking, yet foreign banks are not greatly interested in attracting Russian depositors. Only 45% of all foreign banks licensed to do business in Russia will accept money from off the street Russians.

For an individual not working for a bank or with its clients, opening a savings account with any of these banks is next to impossible. This is despite that the banks that refused to open accounts for anonymous researchers of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies included very solid and reputable financial institutions that could make a serious contribution to the development of Russian banking.