Sberbank and VTB reported an increase in Russian demand for gold and palladium

Retail clients of Sberbank and VTB increased demand for opening metal accounts amid the suspension of trading in the stock market and uncertainty in the foreign exchange market. This is stated in the messages of banks received by RBC.

Sberbank notes a fourfold increase in gold and palladium purchases in recent weeks. “Interest in such investments stimulates the growth in prices for precious metals against the backdrop of uncertainty in the currency, stock and commodity markets,” the bank said in a statement. Sberbank recalled that gold, silver, platinum and palladium can be purchased both in the form of bullion and investment coins, and through opening an unallocated metal account (OMS), without receiving the metal in hand.

In the last week of February and the first week of March, VTB clients opened 5.5 times more depersonalized metal accounts than in the previous two weeks. “The peak of demand came on March 3rd. Since the beginning of the year, this savings instrument has been used by 17,000 new customers, and the total portfolio has exceeded 75 billion rubles,” the bank said. As the representative of the credit institution specified, VTB opens accounts for gold, silver, palladium and platinum. Gold has traditionally been the most popular metal: this year it accounted for 42% of newly opened metaccounts and 62% of investments. In second place is silver - 26% and 15%, respectively. Another 16% of accounts were opened in palladium and platinum, they accounted for 13 and 10% of the volume of placements.

A representative of Sberbank believes that the growth in sales of metals in physical form will be facilitated by the abolition of VAT on the purchase by individuals of precious metal ingots from banks. Operations for the redemption of precious metals in ingots from the population by banks are also not subject to VAT. On March 9, the President signed a law on the exemption from VAT of operations for the sale of precious metals by banks to individuals. “The abolition of VAT at a rate of 20% on the purchase of metals means that the price of a one-gram bar will now decrease proportionally and amount to approximately 8,000 instead of 10,000 rubles. We plan to increase the number of bank offices authorized to sell bullion in order to meet the increased demand,” says Sergey Shirokov, DIRECTOR of the borrow and save division of Sberbank.

According to the Bank of RUSSIA, amid the depreciation of the ruble, by March 11, a gram of gold rose in price to 7.7 thousand rubles, while on February 23 it cost 4.9 thousand rubles, and on February 11 - 4.4 thousand rubles. Palladium rose in price to 11.3 thousand rubles. per gram against 6.1 thousand rubles. on February 23 and 5.5 thousand rubles. on February 11th.