The financial system of the aggressor country is showing instability that is difficult to hide behind the central bank's upbeat statements about the sector's resilience. Russians are massively returning to cash payments, abandoning bank cards and non-cash payments. This trend is gaining momentum faster than officials are ready to admit, reports UNN citing the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
Details
According to intelligence data, in April and May the share of purchases paid for in cash rose to 30.2%. The Russian central bank recorded that in April the volume of cash held by the population increased by 14% year-on-year and reached 275.9 billion US dollars, or 20 trillion rubles.
Most often, Russians use cash to pay for repair services, purchase auto products, in the hotel business and in transport. The reasons are trivial: disruptions to mobile communications and the internet are becoming commonplace, and small businesses in the Russian Federation are trying by any means to reduce acquisition costs and avoid part of the tax burden
Ukrainian foreign intelligence predicts a decline in the credit activity of the Russian banking system in the near future, as well as an increase in regulatory pressure and the search for additional resources to maintain liquidity.
This will limit the ability of banks to finance the population and businesses, especially in segments with increased credit risk, and will push financial institutions towards even stricter internal credit policies
Reminder
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the volume of overdue receivables in the Russian corporate sector exceeded 117.5 billion dollars. The biggest payment problems were recorded in the extractive, manufacturing industries and trade.