Russian banks saw a sharp increase in the number of Chinese yuan accounts last month, a survey by financial daily Kommersant has found.
According to the publication, Russian citizens were actively converting their forex savings to the Chinese currency, while the number of new accounts denominated in yuan also grew significantly.
At Tinkoff Bank, for instance, the volume of funds held in yuan has surged eight times. MTS Bank reported a four-fold increase, as did the Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, while Bank Saint Petersburg saw a 3.5-fold rise.
Tinkoff Bank also reported that many wholesale companies were switching to settlement in yuan, whereas previously they considered US dollar settlements to be easier and faster. According to the bank’s data, the share of business settlements in yuan has grown from 15-25% last year to 25-30% now. The transactions involve firms trading in goods such as spare parts, peripheral equipment, textiles and food products, MTS Bank stated, noting that Russian oil firms, coal miners and metal producers were also starting to move to yuan settlement.