Security is not free.

Swiss banks proceed from the fact that you have to pay for the security of deposits. That is why the interest on deposits in this country has always been the lowest on the planet.. But now Ukraine is ahead of Switzerland in this matter..

So, until recently, the interest on deposits in Swiss banks ranged from 0.05% to 0.1% per annum.. But, since in most credit institutions there are various commissions or surcharges for the maintenance of accounts, at the end of the deposit, these additional charges usually exceeded the accrued interest.. That is, there is actually a negative return.

But in 2022, negative interest ended and, for example, in March 2023, the discount rate of the Swiss central bank reached an unprecedented 1.5%. The fight against inflation forced the bankers to do this..

Money rose in price, to which Swiss banks immediately reacted and offered their clients slightly more profitable terms for placing deposits.. In just six months, the average interest on deposits in Switzerland increased to 0.19%, and in some banks of the country it reached 0.65%. That is, interest rates for Swiss investors increased by 5–10 times.

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Rescue from inflation.

In Ukraine, deposits in hryvnia were conditionally profitable last year: in most banks, medium-term and long-term deposits could be placed at 8–12%.

At the same time, real profitability is much lower and is explained by high inflation.. In particular, inflation exceeded 26% last year.. In 2023, inflationary processes slowed down a bit, so hryvnia depositors may even make a small profit by the end of the year..

But a significant part of the population did not particularly philosophize, but used the usual way to deal with the depreciation of the hryvnia - converted the hryvnia surplus into dollars or euros.

Even more, the NBU, in an effort to calm the foreign exchange market a little, actually stimulated speculative hryvnia placements on three-month deposits with a further opportunity to purchase currency at the official rate.

It is no secret that many such investors took the opportunity to speculate according to a simple scheme: “placed-acquired-resold-placed again”, repeatedly scrolling through the same 100 thousand. UAH, and sometimes several such “portions” in different banks.

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Currency "

What are the opportunities for the population who has foreign exchange savings? Three options.

The first option - the most dangerous - to store funds "

The second is to place a foreign currency deposit in a bank, but on conditions that are unacceptable for many potential depositors. Most Ukrainian banks offer 0.01% per annum.

A simple example: a deposit of 10 thousand. euro will bring the depositor a whole 1 euro of the annual " In fact, we will talk about losses in the amount of 49 euros, since a commission of 0.5% of the deposit is also set for placing money in a bank account.

Most banks with foreign capital have established such “cut-off” commissions for eurocurrency in one form or another. For example, there are also proposals that provide for paying for the “maintenance” of a contribution in euros of 25 euros per month, regardless of the size of the contribution.. So, when placing 1 thousand. euro, the bank " Who will like this?

There are no such commissions for the dollar, but the annual rate, even in banks with domestic capital, is basically the same 0.01%.

At the same time, buying foreign currency government bonds from the Ministry of Finance at almost 4.75% per annum, financiers make a profit of almost five thousand times more than they pay the depositor.

There is a third option for hard currency holders.

The system pushes the currency abroad.

Another way to secure foreign exchange savings is to take them out of Ukraine. The population is pushed to this by frankly indecent interest rates on the dollar and minus on the euro.. The state, represented by the NBU and the Ministry of Finance, should be interested in ensuring that the currency does not lie “under the pillow” and does not flow abroad. Although currencies are still a dime a dozen, it is not known how it will develop in the future.

For example, in the same Poland now, without any problems, you can place a deposit not only in zlotys, but also in euros. Of course, the annual interest on such a deposit will resemble Ukrainian. But the main thing is not interest, but commissions, which also exist, but their size is not frankly “cut-off”. In addition, there are no restrictions on withdrawing the invested amount after the end of the deposit period or ahead of schedule.. Whereas in Ukraine it is allowed to withdraw the equivalent of 100 thousand. UAH per day.

flight capital.

In an environment where both dollars and euros in Ukrainian banks are unwanted guests, the risks of currency concentration outside the banking system are growing, as well as the flight of foreign currency savings to other jurisdictions. And the NBU should have taken care that the conditions for placing foreign currency deposits of citizens and legal entities were, if not decent, then at least not humiliating.

It is no secret that financial stability and a noticeable revaluation of the hryvnia in the face of a gigantic state budget deficit are explained by the fact that this year the volume of foreign aid exceeds last year's figure by more than $10 billion.. But right now, no one can say what the volume of financial lend-lease will be in the coming years..

Moreover, it is much more difficult to return capital than simply to restrain their outflow.. After all, they can eventually transform into real estate, business and other assets already in other jurisdictions..

Therefore, it would be useful for the country if the National Bank once again thought about the following points that relate to deposits in foreign currency:.

In a fairly stable foreign exchange market, it is justified to eliminate all restrictions on the withdrawal of foreign currency cash at the time of the end of the term deposit.

Introduce the circulation of government securities not only in the hryvnia and the dollar, but also in the currency of the community we are striving for, that is, in the euro, which, we hope, will push banks to eliminate discrimination against euro-depositors.

Find market tools to eliminate the dishonest situation when high-yielding foreign currency government bonds are purchased for customer deposits in dollars, actually attracted for “thank you”.

To soften the norms of mandatory reserve for time deposits (up to three months) of citizens and legal entities in any currency in order to maximize the attraction of foreign currency into the orbit of the banking system of Ukraine.

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