Experts evaluated irrevocable deposits: how it works

In 2023, the authorities intend to offer citizens a new type of deposits – irrevocable, which do not imply the possibility of full or partial withdrawal of funds earlier than the period specified in the agreement. Anatoly Aksakov, head of the State Duma committee on the financial market, said that the conditions for these deposits will be more attractive than for ordinary bank deposits. In particular, they can be offered full insurance compensation in the amount of up to 10 million rubles in the event that the license of the bank where such a deposit is placed is revoked. Why the authorities needed these types of savings and whether they will be in demand among depositors, MK found out from experts.

The banks wanted to get the right not to give money to depositors at their first request for a long time, but the events of this year gave them several trump cards at once. From long-term observations of consumer behavior, it is known that when difficult situations arise in the market, citizens first of all seek to withdraw their savings from banks, which creates a critical situation with a lack of funds in their accounts. There is a risk of the collapse of a particular bank, and in the event of a banking panic in society, all this can shake the stability of the entire financial system.

This year, banks have survived the raids of depositors twice – after the start of the NWO at the end of February, and then in September, after the announcement of partial mobilization. Both times the Bank of Russia took measures to return the population’s money back to the banks, and each time successfully. However, having learned from the bitter experience of this year, the financial authorities want to provide banks with the opportunity to open irrevocable deposits at the legislative level. “The idea of ​​irrevocable deposits has been constantly discussed by scientists and financiers, since the moment of legislative consolidation of the right of an individual depositor to withdraw money from a bank at any time, even from a fixed-term deposit, albeit with a loss of interest,” says Associate Professor of the Russian University of Economics. G.V. Plekhanova Tatiana Belyanchikova. “In the 90s, when such a measure appeared in the law, it was forced: banks “fell” often, and there was no deposit insurance system.” Today, after a serious “cleansing” of the banking sector in the mid-2010s, the situation looks more stable, and this is an occasion to think again about giving banks and their depositors the right to choose in this matter, the expert emphasized.

The world experience of using irrevocable deposits is, in principle, positive. So, in Europe, on such deposits, people save up money for a down payment on a mortgage, which they later draw up in the same bank on favorable terms. The interest rate on such deposits is higher than that of other deposits, but the depositor can use this money only strictly after the end of its term and only for targeted needs – to purchase housing on credit.

There are no such deposits in Russia yet, although there have been attempts to introduce irrevocable savings options. In particular, a similar mechanism already existed in the form of savings certificates, but they were not popular with Russians. Now the authorities want to go the other way for a number of reasons. “The structure of the urgency of household deposits in 2022 has changed significantly,” explains the emergence of the initiative, General Director of the Dialot investment company, Yegor Diashov. — If in February of this year the average share of deposits with maturity up to 1 year was about 73%, then in March the share of such deposits increased to 98%. The dynamics was such that at the end of February people rushed to actively withdraw money from their accounts. Then, after raising the key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to 20%, the money began to come back.” In some banks, the return on deposits in early spring reached 24% per annum.

Currently (as of the end of October), the share of deposits up to 1 year was 92%, according to the Central Bank. These figures say that people do not want to return to the past savings regime, and the economy needs “long money”. Moreover, the law states that deposits of individuals have the possibility of early demand at any time – albeit with a loss of interest. The purpose of introducing irrevocable deposits for individuals, firstly, is to extend funding for banks so that they can be guaranteed to have customer funds in their accounts. Secondly, to reduce the risk that people, in the event of some force majeure events, will come en masse and begin to withdraw money, as has happened many times in our recent history. And thirdly, to get funding for the long-term goals of the economy as a whole, Diashov noted.

How will the irrevocable deposit mechanism work in practice? From the words of Aksakov, we can conclude about its main features:

– Funds cannot be withdrawn earlier than the term specified in the contract, an exception will be made only for a limited list of force majeure circumstances.

– The contribution will be long-term, at least from 1 year, but most likely from 3 years and more.

– Higher interest rates will be offered on such deposits.

– Insurance compensation will be higher than the established limit of 1.4 million rubles, up to 100 percent for any amount, or at least reach 10 million rubles.

At the same time, there is an opinion that not all of the listed criteria will be attractive to Russians. “The “carrot” in the form of an increase in the state-guaranteed amount for deposit insurance from 1.4 million to 10 million rubles proposed for such investments will not work,” said Mark Goykhman, chief analyst at TeleTrade. – For the majority of depositors, the current 1.4 million rubles is more than enough. And those for whom larger amounts of deposits are relevant, as a rule, distribute them among several banks.” Irrevocability can be attractive in case of a noticeable excess of interest over ordinary deposits. But this option is also limited by the existing interest rates on loans to banks, on government bonds, the profitability of investment projects and other active operations of banks. Now the maximum interest rate on deposits in the 10 largest banks is 7.3%, according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. It is practically impossible to increase the percentage on irrevocable deposits, for example, up to 10-11%, which would make them attractive, so this instrument is unlikely to be much in demand, the analyst emphasized.

At the same time, all interviewed experts noted that if irrevocable deposits also appear in the line of bank deposits, then the choice of savings programs for Russians will expand, which can only be welcomed.