According to him Bank of RussiaChina is the largest holder of foreign currency reserves of the Russian central bank, according to the latest official report published in January 2022 with data from June 30, 2021. 13.8% of the total Russian international reserves, made up of gold and foreign currency, are in China, almost the same proportion of assets that this bank has in yuan.
Even so, most of these reserves remain in Russia itself in the form of gold, which represents 21.7% of the support maintained by the highest Russian monetary authority. This means that, before the progress of sanctions against Russian banking entities, this country would continue to have under its control more than 35% of its international reserves – the total of which is currently valued in about US$ 630,000 million– thanks to the monetary gold kept in Russian vaults and the reserves deposited in China.
According to the latest Bank of Russia report, a quarter of its international reserves are in France, Germany and Austria. Total deposits in euros stand at around 32%, the highest proportion of any other denomination. Although the report does not specify the location of 10% of the reserves, it does indicate that 5% is in the hands of international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the Bank for International Settlements.
The countries of the European Union, together with the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, mobilized last Saturday to freeze the assets under their jurisdiction associated with the Bank of Russia and Russian citizens. They are joined by Switzerland, whose government yesterday announced the adoption of the same package of restrictions as its EU neighbors, and Japan, which also decided to freeze the funds of some Russian banks – including the central bank – and restrict exports to that country. country.
