OREANDA-NEWS  The balances at the end of 2018 slightly exceeded the previous maximum for 2014, when the balances amounted to 10.17 trillion rubles.The total balance of the Federal Budget in the accounts of the Federal Treasury consist of:

  • funds on ruble accounts in Treasury,
  • bank deposit,
  • funds for accounting of oil and gas revenues (foreign currency purchased by the Ministry of Finance under the budget rule),
  • national welfare Fund (NWF).

Cash balances of the Federal Budget amounted, thus, 61% of budget expenditures at the end of 2018, follows from the data of the Ministry of Finance. This is the maximum since 2014, when they reached 69% (see infographics). In relation to GDP, the balance of the Federal budget as of January 1, 2019 reached almost 10%.

Including the balances of budgetary funds placed on deposits in banks, at the end of 2018 amounted to 1.57 trillion rubles, which is the highest value since 2009, the accounts chamber notes. This figure includes a foreign currency Deposit of $1 billion, placed in a Bank.

In addition, the Ministry of Finance in 2018 bought foreign currency for a total of 4.13 trillion rubles — in 2019 it will be transferred to the NWF (National Wildlife Federation).

The Head of the Accounts Chamber Alexei Kudrin explained at a press conference that one of the reasons for the significant increase in balances is that the government in 2018, oil and gas revenues were not immediately transferred to the NWF. In addition," some time suspended the conversion into currency, so as not to provoke the exchange rate in the market; some of these balances remained in the accounts of the Ministry of Finance, " said Kudrin.

"And another reason-this is due to the fact that the ministries and departments did not spend the money — large balances at the end of the year, they accumulated gradually, so the Treasury placed them," — said the Head of the Accounts Chamber.