Central Bank of Russia sees no risks of deposit 'overhang' - Nabiullina

ST. PETERSBURG. June 19 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia sees no risks of a retail deposit "overhang" where funds could flood the consumer market as the key rate declines, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said during a session at the 2025 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025).

"There is no deposit 'overhang' just waiting for us to cut rates so everything will rush into the consumer market. Many probably confuse this with the pandemic period, when people due to sanitary restrictions saved money they couldn't spend on cars, goods and services, and those savings remained. We don't have deferred consumption - our incomes grew at very high rates, which led people to increase consumption (our consumption grew and continues to grow) while also building up deposits and savings," Nabiullina said.

Nabiullina was responding to concerns raised by session moderator Andrei Makarov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes, that money from household deposits might flow into the consumer market after the key rate reduction.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov also said that he did not see any risk of less favorable deposit rates contributing to a rise in inflation.

"People say there are 60 trillion rubles [in bank deposits], interest rates are going to decrease, and this will all trigger inflation. Not at all. The financial market, you remember the appetite people had for the financial market before all the restrictions were brought in. I am sure that the main thing for us is to provide more opportunities for investments on the financial market, primarily in Russian assets. People say that the Finance Ministry wants to increase privatization and generate revenue for the budget. No, we are even not talking about revenue at the moment. If we make it possible for people to invest in good assets that they can earn from and get paid dividends on, the value of those assets will grow," the minister said.

"If interest rates go down, as Elvira Sakhipzadovna says, part of the money from the deposits will flow into the financial market, and part of it to [Deputy Prime Minister for Construction and Regional Development] Marat Khusnullin, who is also awaiting these funds to be allocated for apartments," he said.