Government to offer reasonable compensations to Sberbank clients

Government does not refuse to compensate Sberbank clients for deposits made before 1992, but at the same time, it plans to limit these compensations to an amount that the state can afford, Deputy Finance Minister Bella Zlatkis said during parliamentary hearings devoted to bank deposits made before 1992 today. According to her, many bank clients still appeal to courts, and the government "fully understands" these moves.

Zlatkis pointed out that if the government were paying full compensations for individual bank deposits, RUR8 trillion ($257.9bn) would have to be allocated for that purpose. Repayment of that sum over the next 30 years would require spending of 25-30% of all budget funds every year on such compensations. This year it is planned to allocate RUR15.6bn ($502.9m) for repayment of bank deposits from the federal budget.

Zlatkis remarked that among former Soviet republics, Russia was the only one to pay compensations for individual bank deposits.