Bankers: Rich Ukrainians prefer hryvnia deposits

Today, on October 31, on the International Day of Savings, the bankers have noted that wealthy Ukrainians prefer deposits in local currency.

"Rich Ukrainians have pretty great deposits in local currency. Their motivation is that the yield on them covers all currency risks. Basically, people with lower incomes are more likely to keep all deposits in the national currency. Although autumn has traditionally made some adjustments since the number of foreign currency deposits has increased, and people will calm down after the election, devaluation pressure on the hryvnia will be smaller and deposits in it again will enjoy a significant demand," deputy chairman of the Kontrakt bank Pavlo Krapivin said.

Thus, according to him, the dollar deposits are the second largest after the hryvnia ones, while Ukrainians trust less and less in the euro, reducing investments in this currency.

Head of the Erste Bank Economic Research department Marian Zablocki agrees that the wealthy Ukrainians prefer hryvnia deposits. "Indeed, the wealthy Ukrainians place funds on short-term deposits in the national currency. Income on them could cover foreign currency exchange risks even in the short term," the financier added.

In turn, according to the head of the Raiffeisen Bank Aval analytical department Dmytro Sologub, the lion's share of savings is invested in the banking system. "After the 2008 crisis, while Ukrainians were afraid to keep money in banks, but in 2010 we passed the point of return to pre-crisis deposits. Now, the volumes increase every year," the analyst concluded.