Изображение: Нацбанк
Belarus may introduce deposits with monthly top-ups. This was stated by Chairman of the National Bank Raman Halouchanka in an interview with Bankovski Vestnik. According to him, the measure is aimed at increasing the share of bank deposits with maturities of more than three years.
“The National Bank has prepared proposals to introduce a new savings instrument — long-term deposits in Belarusian rubles for a period exceeding three years with the possibility of monthly top-ups. Such deposits could become one of the sources of ‘long money’ for the economy and will encourage citizens to save for housing, children’s education, and other important goals. As an incentive, it is proposed to provide a tax deduction for such deposits, similar to voluntary life or pension insurance,” he said.
Halouchanka emphasized that building a long-term funding base for banks is a priority for the National Bank of Belarus. Currently, most household deposits are placed for terms of one to two years. Last year, banks were tasked with increasing the share of irrevocable deposits with maturities exceeding three years.
“Banks have been given a specific target: to increase the share of irrevocable deposits with maturities over three years in the total volume of long-term household deposits to 2.5% by the end of the current year. In absolute terms, this is about 380 million rubles (for comparison: as of January 1 this year, the figure stood at 1.7%, or 180 million rubles). Banks are actively working in this direction: today, all banks offer irrevocable deposits with maturities exceeding three years, whereas in mid-last year only six banks did,” Halouchanka said.
Such deposits offer higher interest rates, typically 1–2 percentage points above those for terms of one to two years. In addition, the National Bank has set a higher standard risk value for deposits with maturities exceeding three years.