MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s dominant lender on Wednesday said individuals could now open accounts in Indian rupees, expanding the range of foreign currencies available as Moscow strives to reduce dependency on the U.S. dollar and euro.
“As Sberbank has highlighted, the bank supports the trend of de-dollarisation and constantly increases the number of foreign currencies available to clients,” Sberbank said in a statement.
Sberbank has more than 100 million retail clients and already offers deposits in China’s yuan and UAE dirhams. Rupee accounts would be available from Wednesday, it said.
The bank’s finance chief said earlier that Sberbank will issue bonds in Chinese yuan this year if an opportunity arises and will continue borrowing in roubles to drive portfolio growth.
(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Alexander Marrow; Editing by Louise Heavens)
