ArmInfo.The toxic surplus of the Russian ruble has transformed this currency into a heavy and dangerous burden for banks within EAEU: the reaction is either tightening conditions or outright refusal to process those funds. This surplus is deemed toxic because the funds are effectively "locked" within these banking systems, offering no return on investment while simultaneously exposing financial institutions to secondary sanction risks.
Due to international sanctions, local banks in countries like Kazakhstan and Armenia face severe difficulties in converting these physical cash holdings into digital form for correspondent accounts in Russia, or exchanging them for dollars and euros on the global market. Furthermore, banks incur ongoing operational losses associated with the secure storage, armed transit, cash-in-transit (CIT) services, and the rigorous authentication required for these banknotes—all while the capital remains idle. RBC, citing its own sources and official data, describes the situation with the Russian ruble in the EAEU countries as follows: Since June, the banking systems of the Eurasian Economic Union member states have begun a sharp tightening of their policies regarding the Russian currency.
"Banks in EAEU countries have begun to restrict or tighten the conditions for depositing cash rubles into bank accounts. Some Armenian banks have adopted the strictest approach, completely ceasing operations with cash rubles, including deposits into bank accounts. However, non-cash payments continue to be processed under stanadard conditions. Banks in Belarus (at least eight major ones – Alfa-Bank, Belarusbank, BelVEB, BNB-Bank, MTBank, Sberbank, Technobank, and Zepter Bank) and Kazakhstan (one of the largest players – CenterCredit – BCC) have introduced restrictions. These institutions have imposed commissions ranging from 2% to 5% for depositing physical rubles via teller counters, terminals, and ATMs. In Kyrgyzstan, EcoIslamicBank has set a similar rate for transfers made through the SWIFT system," RBC reports.
According to experts, the core of the problem lies in a huge surplus of Russian currency circulating within EAEU member states. According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, the country's exchange offices purchased 6.5 billion rubles in April alone, and another 4.7 billion rubles in May. Experts also clarify that accepting and processing cash entails significant costs for banks for storage, collection (transportation), and authentication. At the same time, amid Western sanctions, demand for cash rubles abroad is virtually nonexistent, making such operations directly unprofitable for local banks. They believe the increase in cash flows was influenced by the overall growth in the volume of cash circulating within the Russian Federation, which has increased by approximately 1.4 trillion rubles since the beginning of the year. They added that the outflow of cash to neighboring countries has increased due to tightened internal controls in Russia: Russian banks consider deposits of more than 5 million rubles by individuals (and more than 30 million rubles by legal entities) in cash within 30 days and subsequent rapid transfers abroad suspicious, leading to account freezing. Furthermore, the situation is affected by the decree of the Russian president, effective April 1, prohibiting the export of cash exceeding $100,000 to EAEU countries, forcing entities to export funds in ruble equivalents.
Meanwhile, according to information collected by ArmInfo Investment Company, Armenian banks continue to set exchange rates for cash and non-cash transactions on their websites. As of July 1 of this year, for example, at 1:00 PM, the AMD/RUB exchange rate fluctuated between 3.7/4.7 and 4.45/4.85 drams per 1 RUB for cash transactions, and between 4.05/4.79 and 4.47/4.94 per 1 RUB for non-cash transactions. On July 1 of this year, at 1:00 PM, the AMD/RUB exchange rate on the Armenian retail FX market fluctuated between 4.40/4.65 and 4.45/4.70 per 1 RUB.
It should be noted that in the second half of June, the spread between the buying and selling rates of the Russian ruble on the Armenian retail foreign exchange market increased sharply, from 0.10-0.12 points to 0.45 points. However, by the end of June, the spread had narrowed to 0.25 points, decreasing slightly further to 0.20 points in early July.
ArmInfo has also learned that in Armenia, there are currently only isolated cases of banks refusing to accept ruble deposits, citing a lack of demand. Experts are hesitant to predict whether a chain reaction (a refusal of ruble deposits) will follow, given the aforementioned situation with the Russian currency, though they don't rule it out either. Regarding the discontinuation of cash ruble operations, including deposits into bank accounts, industry analysts view the actions taken by these banks as entirely justified. Experts emphasize that the fundamental principles of banking remain unchanged: "Risk management and the regulation of currency positions remain absolute imperatives."
