CBR: Russia banks' ruble liquidity down 1.8% in July, FX liquidity falls 6%

MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Russian banks' ruble liquidity in July decreased by 300 billion rubles (or 1.8%) to 16.2 trillion rubles, according to a Central Bank of Russia (CBR) commentary on banking sector development.

FX liquidity at the end of July amounted to $49 billion. In June, this figure stood at $52 billion. Thus, in July it decreased by $3 billion, or 5.8%. The Central Bank believes that the FX liquidity is at an adequate level (it covers about 50% of clients' funds and 27% of foreign currency liabilities (54% and 29% respectively in June).

Ruble liquidity is sufficient to cover 21% of clients' ruble-denominated funds or 45% of individuals' funds. Banks can borrow another 9.7 trillion (12% of customer funds) from the CBR against the pledge of non-marketable assets. Thus, available sources of ruble liquidity cover about 33% of clients' ruble-denominated funds (34% in June).

Ruble liquidity is unevenly distributed across the sector, but the money market (RUB 7.8 trillion on August 1, 2023) makes it possible to neutralize some of these risks, the CBR said.

In July, banks' balances on accounts with the Central Bank decreased by 248 billion rubles, while unpledged market collateral decreased by 122 billion rubles.