Page 90 - RusRPTNov23

8.1.2 Loans
In September, the high pace of corporate lending growth persisted, with a 2.0% increase, equivalent to 1.4 trillion rubles (or +1.7% in August). A significant portion of these loans was extended to companies in the mining and metallurgical, oil and gas, and energy sectors.
Approximately 15% of the growth was attributed to project financing for housing construction. Additionally, certain major deals involving the acquisition of businesses from foreign companies exiting the Russian market were financed. However, a slowdown in corporate lending is anticipated in Q4 2023, considering the rising interest rates.
Notably, loans in Russian rubles saw an increase of 1.483 trillion rubles (+2.6%), while foreign currency loans decreased slightly, with an equivalent of 82bn rubles in ruble terms (-0.9bn $, -0.7%), partly due to the ongoing conversion of loans from "toxic" currencies to rubles. It's worth noting that the volume of such conversions has gradually slowed down in recent months, partly due to the overall reduction in foreign currency loans.
The share of foreign currency loans in September stood at 17.1%, slightly higher than the beginning of the year (16.2%). However, when excluding the impact of currency revaluation, the share of foreign currency loans decreased by 3.3 percentage points to 12.9%.
Preliminary data suggests that consumer lending significantly slowed in September, with a growth rate of 1.5%, compared to 2.4% in August. This
90 RUSSIA Country Report November 2023 www.intellinews.com