Belarusians Dashed To Currency Exchange Offices

Population is disposing of the “candy wraps” which are worth less every day.

Despite the bitterly cold, there are queues at currency exchange offices of Homel, including the currency exchange of Tekhnobank and Fransabank.

Even more people are gathering in fixed exchange offices, which offer a more advantageous exchange rate, Radio Svaboda reports.

There is a little queue in Moskva – Minsk bank in Savetskaya Street. One can buy a US dollar for Br20,530, and sell for Br20,400. It is more profitable than in Belarusbank and Belinvestbank.

However on January 18 it was better to buy dollars at Zepter Bank – Br20,250 and 22,400 correspondingly. BPS Sberbank and Evrotorginvestbank were buying the dollar at a high price, Br20,450.

A young Homel dweller Dzmitry, who has just left the currency exchange of Fransabank, is not surprised at the drop in the exchange rate of the Belarusian currency:

“There has been a sharp fall in the value of the Belarusian ruble. We are busy as bees doing anything we can. Personally I am not good at economizing. We are just spending money stock. Oil prices have fallen, and we depend on Russia. Besides, sanctions have been used against Russia.”

The interlocutor does not know how and in what currency to keep the money, if he has some spare money. The Belarusian ruble is depreciating quickly, while currency deposits are also not so tempting, Maxim believes:

“The dollar is going up, but look what they are doing at banks – they take money at 3-5% interest. And then they even take a tax from per cents.”

A driver from Homel, Aliaksandr, believes that if someone has any savings, they should be better invested in real estate or education:

“Those who have money, know how to save them. First thing is real estate, it is always valuable. And there is no use to ask such people as me: we do not have money. And in general, what’s the use of this foreign currency? withing my knowledge the dollar has turned into the same funny money as rubles. You could buy something substantial for 20 dollars once. And what could be bought for 20 dollars now? It means that spare money should be invested in real estate or education. And if not in one’s own education, then in education of one’s children. When a person knows two languages, he or she would be always popular with employers.”

Over the first 2.5 weeks of the new year the Belarusian ruble has lost 5.5% of its weight. The dollar now weighs Br1,850 more.

Some Homel dwellers naively think that they do not have to fear any devaluation with their small salaries or pensions – they just have to survive somehow. Others, like a pensioner Nina, for example, think that it is safer to buy Russian rubles:

“I do not worry because of that, I do not have lots of money – and I am not worried. In October a Russian ruble cost Br250, and now it is almost the same. The day is over, it's something at least. Let’s wait and see. We are pensioners, it’s all the same for us. I get a pension of Br1,600,000. I hope it will be enough for utility bills. There has not been money for whims long ago. Any savings are out of the question, as I have just 1 million 600 thousnand.”

Meanwhile, financial analysts attract attention to the fact that ruble deposits of natural persons in Belarus are dwindling for the third month in a row. Since October they have become “lighter” by 3 trillion rubles. In December last year Belarusians withdrew 87 million dollars from their accounts, and bought $111.6 million.