September 13, Minsk /Anna Kot - BELTA/. Ruble loan rates on the interbank market in Belarus have exceeded 60%, and according to sources in banking circles, they reached 70-80% per annum today. Against the backdrop of a sharp liquidity deficit, banks are urgently increasing interest rates on ruble deposits for the population, reports a BELTA correspondent.
According to the National Bank, on September 11, the average rate on overnight interbank loans in the national currency for residents was 62.9% per annum. At the same time, the trading volume of overnight loans with residents amounted to Br368.9 billion. For comparison, at the beginning of September, these figures were 39.2% per annum and Br583.5 billion, respectively.
As of the morning of September 12, the banking system's liquidity needs exceeded Br10 trillion. On September 11, the National Bank provided support to banks in the amount of Br1.3 trillion, of which Br1.1 trillion was in the form of Lombard loans at a fixed rate and Br0.2 trillion through bilateral swap transactions.
To address liquidity deficit problems, banks are rapidly increasing rates on ruble deposits for the population. In particular, today Belarusbank and Belagroprombank announced another increase in rates. Among the banks that have increased the yield on ruble deposits are also BPS-Sberbank, MTBank, Bank VTB (Belarus), Bank Moscow-Minsk, and Paritetbank. The most favorable offers today reach 45% per annum. Banks are also increasing rates on short-term deposits for the corporate sector.
According to Vadim Iosub, a financial analyst at the official partner "Alpari" in Minsk, the situation on the interbank and deposit markets is currently similar to that in July. To cope with the trend of increased demand for currency from the population and the outflow of ruble deposits into currency, the National Bank is artificially creating a ruble liquidity deficit. "This explains the surge in interbank rates, which, by the way, have already exceeded the maximum of the current summer. Following interbank rates, ruble deposit rates are rising. The ultimate goal of this is to stop the outflow of ruble deposits into currency, reduce demand for foreign currency, and consequently, the rate of growth of the foreign currency exchange rate," noted Vadim Iosub.