OREANDA-NEWS. February 22, 2012. In 2011 Uniastrum’s retail time deposit portfolio posted sustained monthly growth, outstripping the industry average. The number of customers choosing to park funds with the Bank climbed 16.7% on the previous year. Moreover, most stayed with Uniastrum once their deposits matured, either opting to leave their money in the same account or switch it to another UB deposit facility. As of year-start 2012 over 90% of depositors chose to rollover their accounts, which, needless to say, bears testimony to the public’s confidence in the Bank, reported the press-centre of Uniastrum.

Today Uniastrum’s retail deposit portfolio is dominated by one-year ruble-denominated accounts, which accounted for 86.7% of the portfolio as of January 1, 2012. In the view of Uniastrum Management Board Chairman Eugene Tutkevich, prudent depositors are right to opt for rubles, rather than other currencies.

“Ruble deposits currently offer a good return and the ruble is now significantly more robust vis-a-vis the dollar and the euro,” Tutkevich notes. “Russia has not been hit by the debt crisis that continues to rock most European countries. Whereas in a number of European economies the national debt/GDP ratio tops 100%, in Russia it is, at most, 3%. Based on our forecasts, 2012 will see a stemming in the outflow of assets, and the ruble will strengthen against the currency basket. Also, ruble deposit rates are now higher than those offered for funds deposited in foreign currencies.”