MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s dominant lender on Wednesday said individuals could now open accounts in Indian rupees, expanding the range of foreign currencies available as Moscow strives to reduce dependency on the U.S. dollar and euro.
“As Sberbank has highlighted, the bank supports the trend of de-dollarisation and constantly increases the number of foreign currencies available to clients,” Sberbank said in a statement.
Sberbank has more than 100 million retail clients and already offers deposits in China’s yuan and UAE dirhams. Rupee accounts would be available from Wednesday, it said.
In a separate statement, Sberbank said it would raise rates on dirham deposits by 100 basis points for a six-week period from Wednesday.
The bank’s finance chief said earlier that Sberbank will issue bonds in Chinese yuan this year if an opportunity arises and will continue borrowing in roubles to drive portfolio growth.
Rival VTB on Wednesday said yuan savings would make up about a quarter of Russia’s overall foreign exchange portfolio by end-2023, rising to 45% in 2024 and accounting for two thirds in 2025.
“It is the Chinese currency that today acts as the main alternative, in fact, to the departing dollar and euro and forces banks to compete more actively for clients,” Deputy President-Chairman of VTB’s management board Anatoly Pechatnikov said.
“Other soft currencies are still only looking for their consumers in Russia, acting as niche offers,” he added.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Louise Heavens and Sharon Singleton)
