Since the beginning of the year, Russians have withdrawn nearly $5 billion from foreign banks

Russians have begun actively transferring savings from foreign accounts back to Russian banks in response to record-high interest rates on ruble deposits. According to the Central Bank of Russia, since December 2024, citizens have transferred 350 billion rubles ($4.72 billion) back to Russia, exceeding the amount of funds transferred abroad during the same period. 

This is reported by the Russian press, citing Central Bank statistics.

In the first quarter of 2026 alone, the net return of funds (the difference between transfers to Russia and abroad) amounted to 162.9 billion rubles. This figure has already surpassed the total for the entire previous year, when approximately 161 billion rubles returned to the country. Analysts attribute this trend to the Central Bank’s tight monetary policy and high returns on domestic deposits amid risks of asset freezes in “unfriendly” jurisdictions.

Last year was the first in recorded history when the inflow of household funds from abroad exceeded their outflow. At the same time, against the backdrop of regional conflicts and economic pressure, the regulator is forced to keep the key rate at a high level, which continues to stimulate the return of capital into the country.

However, production and sales of agricultural machinery have plummeted in Russia.

After three years of unexpected economic growth, Russia is facing a sudden slowdown—war costs, inflation, and falling oil prices have begun to weigh on an economy that until recently seemed resilient to sanctions.

Consumer lending in Russia has fallen to a six-year low.