Russian banks have begun to offer their clients to open deposits in a foreign currency that still sounds unusual for most – the Chinese Yuan Renminbi. About one-third of large Russian banks now provide the option of keeping client savings in this currency.
Customers are welcome to open yuan deposits at 10 of the 30 largest Russian banks in terms of assets, Valery Yemelyanov, stock market expert at BCS World of Investments.
However, interest rates on such deposits remain relatively low – the highest offer is 1.7% per annum, while the rest are even lower.
So far, Russians en masse have not been showing interest in such banking products – just over a half of respondents have even heard of the possibility to open such deposits in Russian banks, according to a survey by the NAFI Analytical Center. On the other hand, many Russians believe such investments may be promising, as more than half of respondents said they expected the Chinese currency to grow.