Moiseev: yuan and dirham are seen as an alternative to the dollar and the euro

The Chinese yuan, dirham of the Arab Emirates and other currencies are considered as an alternative to the “toxic” dollar and euro in the process of devaluation of the Russian banking sector, declared in an interview RBC Deputy Minister of Finance of Russia Alexei Moiseev.

“The currency that everyone is looking at first of all now is, of course, the yuan, because there is a large market and a stable exchange rate, at least in relation to the dollar. But the yuan is not the only currency being considered. The dirham (the currency of the United Arab Emirates) and a number of other currencies of smaller markets are also being considered,” Moiseev said.

The Deputy Minister stressed that the currency that can be distributed in the circulation of the country must have liquidity, exchange rate stability and is not under the currency control of the issuing country. According to Moiseev, there are currencies that everyone “avoids” because of their volatility, but he did not give specific examples, because he does not want to “offend our partners.”

Due to its stability, the dirham can be interesting not only as a method of calculation, but also as a way of storing value, Moiseev believes. But the economies of the countries whose currency is planned to be used must be large – so that the volume is not limited to the narrowness of the market.

As for the dollar, according to the deputy minister, it is no longer possible to accumulate assets in this currency, and it is “absolutely pointless” to talk about this even in relation to those who are not under sanctions, as Western banks close more and more corresponding accounts with Russian credit institutions.

First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Alexander Vedyakhin at the Eastern Economic Forum (WEF) declaredwhat Sberbank will start lending to companies in yuan, Indian rupees may also be involved in the future. Chapter VTB Andrey Kostin also informedthat the bank plans to launch corporate lending in the currencies of friendly countries by the end of 2022.

As before wrote Vedomosti, Russian banks at the end of August reported that they offer deposits and savings accounts in yuan – there are such in Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, “FC Otkritie“, RSHBbank “Zenith“.