“National Wealth Fund ($120B).”
Down 50% since the 2022 invasion.
And down another 20% this past week.
““National Wealth Fund ($120B).”
“Down 50% since the 2022 invasion.”
It was around $600 Billion right before the 2022 invasion - half was quickly frozen by the West. They have been spending the rest down since then to defray the deficits they have been running on the war.
At the rate they have been cashing it out, the liquid portion would be completely expended this year. The remainder (illiquid portion) is mostly the Government’s share in domestic infrastructure that they funded.
I guess they could force their banks to buy bonds from those projects (they have been forcing the banks to extend a lot of dubious credit, to keep the economy from seizing up), but the Central Bank would likely have to create even more new rubles and loan them to the banks, for them to buy a lot of such securities.
The bottom line is that as the Russian National Wealth Fund peters out, Russia will have to rely even more heavily on money printing (which they have already been doing heavily), which will put even more pressure on their already high and growing inflation rate.
They have largely spent their savings, income is insufficient (and declining) to fund the war despite big tax increases, and they are unable to borrow significantly (only a fraction (about 1/5) of their bonds will now sell, compared to 2021).
Hyperinflation and currency collapse risks are growing, amid a rising tide of corporate and personal bankruptcies, fueled by rising debt loads, and interest rates running from 21% (to banks from the Central Bank) to over 40% (retail).