Sberbank transfers yuan – Kommersant

Sberbank announced the launch of transfers from account to account in third-party banks in yuan. The service allows you to transfer funds without conversion costs, but provides for a commission of 1%. First of all, given the current restrictions in the currency legislation, the service may be of interest as transfers to oneself from an account to an account in various banks. Sberbank has already raised rates on yuan deposits twice this year and admitted to a shortage of foreign currency liquidity.

On April 24, Sberbank announced the launch of transfers by account number in Chinese yuan across the Russian Federation, as well as in Belarusian rubles, to any bank in Belarus. To transfer, the client must have an account in the appropriate currency in the sender’s and recipient’s banks.

Now currency transfers across Russia between residents are allowed in cases where funds are transferred to their own account opened with another bank in the Russian Federation, or to a close relative (upon presentation of documents), the press service of Sberbank explained. Such restrictions were introduced in response to the sanctions. Previously, Sberbank offered a transfer service from account to account in the traditionally most common currency. “The service is designed for those clients who diversify their savings into alternative currencies and have accounts or deposits in yuan in different banks,” the bank explained.

Sberbank is not the first, but the largest player to launch transfers in yuan. Some of the largest banks, in particular, VTB and Gazprombank, have such transfers. Against the background of growing popularity, the volume of loans and deposits in yuan in the system as a whole reached about 1% by the beginning of 2023, according to the Central Bank. Demand for loans in Chinese currency is also growing (see Kommersant on March 7).

Earlier it was noted that banks have sharply increased the attraction of Chinese yuan from the Central Bank since the end of March. The Central Bank began to intervene in the foreign exchange market in Chinese yuan in 2023, and also launched swaps in yuan to support banks during a liquidity shortage. “At some point, yes, when we don’t have enough liquidity to close, we borrowed. But in general, the situation is not bad, we are now seeing a demand for credit resources … We are gradually raising rates on yuan deposits, ”said German Gref, head of Sberbank, last Friday. On Friday, Sberbank increased the maximum rate on deposits in yuan from 2.59% to 3.35% per annum. This is not the first time the bank has increased the maximum percentage this year. According to the Banki.ru portal, now the maximum rate on yuan deposits in the banking market is 3.85% per annum, while the closest competitor of Sberbank VTB offers a yield on such deposits of 2.72%.

With the spread of the yuan in Russia, related services will also develop, including transfers between individuals, says Anatoly Perfilyev, junior director for banking ratings at Expert RA. “The absence of this option complicates the possibility of moving Chinese currency between banks: the client either needs to convert yuan to make a ruble transfer with subsequent reverse conversion, which causes additional losses, or physically withdraw funds and transfer them to another bank,” he explains. accounts in Russian banks have the potential to be in demand.”

For Sberbank, the profit lies in additional commission income, he points out. According to independent expert Andrey Barkhota, now the amount of balances on the accounts of the population in yuan is less than 1 trillion rubles. “Deposits in yuan are one of the few forms of saving foreign currency savings for the population,” he notes. “For Sberbank, transfers in yuan are a source of risk-free commission income with a strategic expectation of outstripping growth of deposits and accounts in yuan.”

Ksenia Dementieva, Yulia Poslavskaya