MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/. Russian banks’ assets in precious metals and gemstones nearly doubled over the course of 2025, Izvestia reported, citing data from the Bank of Russia.

The volume of precious metals and gemstones rose sharply in 2025. As of December 1, 2025, the value of precious metals on banks’ balance sheets stood at 607 bln rubles ($7.94 bln), which is 1.9 times higher than at the beginning of the year.

It was noted that the primary driver of the increase was a rise in the prices of precious metals. Higher market quotations automatically boosted the value of these holdings on banks’ balance sheets, even without a proportional expansion in physical volumes. An additional factor was growing investment demand. Furthermore, amid sanctions pressure, the volume of precious metals in gold equivalent within the banking system rose from 1.1 metric tons to 6.3 metric tons.