BOFIT Weekly Review 2016/03
Capital flows between Russia and the rest of the world remarkably small
Preliminary balance-of-payments figures show that the net outflow of private capital fell in 2015. This was despite banks paying down large amounts of foreign debt. Unlike in previous years, banks also reduced their foreign assets. On the other hand, companies, as in 2014, managed to pay down only a little of their debt. The inflow of direct investment to Russia fell to a trickle, while outbound FDI contracted as well. The outflow of grey capital remained small. Foreign currency cash held outside banks continued to decline, despite on-going instability in the ruble’s exchange rate during last year.