Hide Your Money

The National Bank's efforts to strengthen confidence in the Belarusian ruble have failed.

Another publication of the National Bank with an analysis of inflationary expectations clearly shows the scale of the crisis of confidence in our country, writes a well-known Belarusian economist Leanid Fridkin in his blog.

The time for major financial decisions steadily does not seem appropriate for most respondents. The last poll is no exception: 77.1% of respondents consider November an evil time for big purchases, and 59.1% consider it an evil time for making savings (67.6 and 60.2% a year earlier). If people don't want to spend money, it's still part of the trouble. However, among those who do intend to make savings, the share of foreign currency supporters rose from 64.9% to 84.8% over the year. Three years ago, they were only 74.4%. It turns out that the National Bank's efforts to strengthen confidence in the Belarusian ruble have failed.

Besides, 34.8% of respondents now prefer cash, while back in August there was 29.8%. Thus, the trend of savings withdrawal from a piggy bank that has been observed since last August has come to an end. However, the number of people wishing to keep their savings in a bank is falling. In 3 months, it has fallen from 11.5 to 8.9%, although a year ago it was over 20%. Thus, the popularity of bank deposits as an instrument of saving has hit the bottom. Perhaps, it is not about low rates but fears of deposit withdrawal by the state - legally or without any grounds at all.

The share of citizens who agree to keep their savings in gold, precious metals or insurance dropped from 18.5% in August to 17.9% and those who believe in real estate from 30 to 27.4%. The share of those who chose securities rose from 5.8% to a historical maximum of 6.2%, while other options rose from 4.4% to 4.8%.

Thus, the events of recent months have finally undermined the confidence of the citizens in the reliability of the rouble and keeping money in banks. Those who could invest in real estate have doubts - prices for square metres both on the primary and secondary housing markets are going down, and it is not known when they will stop.

The volatile whims of gold can only be tolerated in a long-term perspective, while life is short. The most liquid and mobile investments seem to be preferable. Those that have a better chance of slipping away from the state's claws.