Russian Banking Sector in Distress as One in Five Banks Reports Losses

(MOSCOW, RUSSIA) – One in five banks in the Russian Federation is currently loss making, the highest level recorded since 2022, as citizens increasingly withdraw their savings in a climate of deepening economic mistrust.

According to official Russian data, 20 percent of the country’s banks are now unprofitable. The figure emerges as Russians have begun a mass withdrawal of cash from automated teller machines and remaining physical bank branches. During this period, Russians are holding the largest ever amount of cash in their possession, a phenomenon analysts describe not as a demonstration of wealth but as evidence of a severe lack of trust in the economic system of the Russian Federation.

Such actions by customers are shaking the banking system even more severely from within. The collapse of the banking sector is a critical component of the defeat and demilitarisation of Russia, which remains the only viable peace plan.

In April and early May, during significant internet shutdowns across the country, a new record was set for cash withdrawals, comparable only to the panic seen in December 2025. This surge was not driven by holiday preparations but by the understanding that more physical bank branches are closing, particularly in the far east and north of Russia, where communities are heavily dependent on in person banking.

Simultaneously, Russian automated teller machines are introducing more restrictions on withdrawals, a move officially framed as consumer protection but widely understood as an effort to retain money within the failing system. This follows a major scandal across Russian Telegram channels, accessible only via virtual private networks, after the head of the Russian central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, stated that the most trustworthy resource to back the Russian economy is people’s deposits.

For many generations of Russians, the prospect of losing bank savings is a historically familiar trauma. Many experienced the loss of all their savings kept in state banks following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Millions understand that a repeat is possible, having lived through the economic problems, oil export issues and the exhausting war in Afghanistan that preceded the Soviet collapse. The current context of an exhausting war in Ukraine mirrors this, with Russia reportedly lacking sufficient tanks and soldiers even for its central propaganda parade in Moscow recently.

All of these restrictions and internet shutdowns are accelerating the collapse of the Russian Federation. The Russian dictator believes that introducing censorship and imposing more taxes brings money and security to his system. In reality, people feel stressed and fear for their deposits and they start withdrawing money. The dictator does not use the internet and therefore cannot predict the consequences of his actions, a fact the economy and banking system are demonstrating clearly.

During the strict May holiday period, the banking situation worsened as millions had no access to mobile internet and could not transact online. This prompted a rush to automated teller machines, with the equivalent of approximately 8 billion US Dollars withdrawn in rubles. This injection of rubles into the cash system is a sign of panic and fear, not wealth.

The head of the central bank continues to maintain that banks and people’s savings are the best source of backup for the Russian economy. Despite narratives suggesting Russia is rich, the country is collapsing. Its economy has been seriously damaged by targeting central oil and gas exports. More consequences are expected for the Russian federal budget, which already lacks trillions of rubles. In the first half of 2026, losses have already exceeded predictions for the entire year. Russia’s gross domestic product is smaller than that of Italy.

After almost four and a half years of an exhausting war, the Russian dictator had to request permission from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to hold a parade in Moscow.