“Sell rubles and buy foreign currency while banks have it”

Belarusians were withdrawing rubles from deposit accounts and buying foreign currency n August.

Belarusian banks lost 10% of deposits denominated in Belarusian rubles in August as a result of a panic in the foreign currency market. Belarusians began to transfer their funds to accounts in foreign currency or buy foreign cash.

“Sell rubles and buy foreign currency while banks have it,” this is how Belarusians behaved in August, Belsat reports.

The authorities used to raise interest rates in such cases. In 2013, deposits in Belarusian rubles had interests rates of up to 70% for some time, but the National Bank stubbornly kept rates below 30% in August 2015.

Though the foreign currency panic seems to be over, experts note that it may resume as soon as the the dollar growth against the ruble accelerates. The authorities have little resources to restrain exchange rate fluctuations, the fact that is proved by desperate regulation No. 666 on imports restrictions.