OREANDA-NEWS  In the last month of summer, rates on long-term corporate loans in Russian banks increased more than on retail loans. This was reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

According to her, on average, banks offered entrepreneurs 19.8 percent for periods over one year, and individuals — 16.9 percent. And when placing business funds from six months to a year, the rate was 20.6 percent.

According to Anna Kornelyuk, director of the Small and Medium Business division of DOM.RF Bank, there is now an increased demand for business deposits. The number of clients of small and medium-sized enterprises increased by 40 percent in 2024.

However, as noted by Pavel Veshaev, finance expert at the Moscow State Financial Institution Opora Russia, CEO of FinHelp, the observed trend does not indicate that the business has a lot of money and it is saving it on deposits using high rates, but that a financial "blood clot" has formed. In other words, the entrepreneurs took the money to the banks because they could not put it into circulation. One of the reasons for this is the sanctions pressure and problems with making payments.

"The phenomenon of "money overstocking" on bank deposits is a sign of business uncertainty about the future," Veshaev said.

According to Vadim Kovrigin, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics, Management and Law of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, such hoarding indicates the wariness of businesses that intend to save until the Bank of Russia begins to ease monetary policy.

Earlier, Alexander Abramov, head of the Laboratory for Analysis of Institutions and Financial Markets at the IPEI Presidential Academy, said that the two most profitable ways to invest money for a mass investor are money market funds and short—term bank deposits.