MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Russian mid-sized bank Globex has temporarily
frozen early withdrawals of fixed-term retail deposits as it tries to conserve
cash amid a liquidity squeeze, Kommersant business daily reported on Wednesday.
The bank declined immediate comment on the report which quoted Globex's
vice-president Emil Aliyev.
Aliyev said the bank's move was due to "an intense demand among
depositors, many of which explain their moves by a desire to urgently transfer
money to (Russian largest, state-controlled banks) VTB and Sberbank".
Many of Russia's banks are struggling with a liquidity shortage and
inability to refinance debts because of the closure of global capital markets.
The crisis has already forced the government to bail out two mid-sized
banks, Svyaz Bank and Kit-Finance, as painful memories of savings losses in the
1990s and the Soviet times are still fresh in people's minds.
Aliyev said Globex has already lost 15 percent of retail client savings
or 3.5 billion roubles ($134.2 million) since Oct. 1 with the bulk of money
withdrawn early.
Last week, Russia's mid-sized bank Rosevrobank asked clients to pay back
their mortgages right away rather than risk the prospect of real estate prices
falling 30 percent. ID:nLA112942]
(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by
Erica Billingham) ($1=26.08 Rouble) Keywords: GLOBEX/DEPOSITS
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