Page 92 - RusRPTFeb23

in October. This was mainly due to consumer credit, which grew by RUB119bn in November versus only RUB44bn in October.
Mortgages increased by slightly more than RUB200bn, which is about what we saw in October. Thus, it appears that lending has continued to expand, even though banks have become somewhat more cautious with loan approvals.
The passive base of the Russian banking sector in November was characterised by an increase in funds of both legal entities and the population. Such a synchronous increase was not observed in the previous two months. The volume of funds of legal entities increased by 1.7% in November (in October there was a decrease of 1.1%). According to analysts, the funds of legal entities are likely to show growth in the coming months, but the pace may slow down somewhat.
In turn, the growth of deposits of individuals in real terms amounted to +0.9%, which is the best result for 5 months. Thus, it can be stated that in November the situation with the dynamics of the funds of the population stabilised. According to RIA Rating experts, most likely, in December, the dynamics of individuals' funds will correspond to the average values in recent years and will be a record for 2022. In particular, this December, as in previous years, a significant increase in the population's funds will be associated with the early payment of salaries and benefits, as well as the payment of annual bonuses.
92 RUSSIA Country Report February 2023 www.intellinews.com