Page 108 - RusRPTJul23

February to April), which is consistent with the monthly average rate of 2021 (+0.9%).
Only loans in rubles saw growth (+672bn rubles, +1.3%). Companies primarily in the transportation, mining and metallurgical, energy, telecommunications, oil and gas sectors, as well as those involved in commercial real estate and housing construction, were the main beneficiaries of these loans.
Approximately 150bn rubles were issued for project financing in housing construction, which is in line with the trend of the previous months (an average of around 160bn rubles per month from March to April).
The foreign currency portfolio moderately contracted (-143bn rubles in ruble equivalent, -1.8bn US dollars, -1.4%). However, the contraction was limited to the portfolio of loans in currencies of unfriendly countries, with an estimated conversion of approximately 2.5bn US dollars into yuan.
The credit quality indicators of corporate loans remain at a good level .
The share of Russians who had to take or repay a loan from a bank over the past year increased from 33% in 2017 to 53% in 2023, according to a survey by the NAFI analytical center. At the same time, every second of those who used credit funds over the past year at least once encountered financial difficulties in repaying a loan. Most often, respondents in the age group of 25–34 years old and people without higher education experienced problems. Every fourth respondent (24%) expressed confidence that a slight delay in making loan payments is not terrible. Five years ago, 38% of respondents answered this way.
According to preliminary data 3, mortgage lending continued to grow at a high pace in May (+2.2%), which is in line with the levels seen in March and April (+2.1-2.2%).
The main driver of this growth was government-supported mortgages, with lending increasing by approximately 9% 4 compared to April (reaching 303 billion rubles from 278 billion rubles, marking the highest monthly volume of lending so far this year). Both the "Family Mortgage" (142 billion rubles compared to 135 billion rubles in April) and the "Preferred Mortgage" (126 billion rubles compared to 113 billion rubles) saw an increase in lending. This may be attributed to banks' efforts to issue loans under low down payment government programs before the tightening of macro-prudential surcharges for such loans starting from June 1, 2023 5.
On the other hand, lending for market mortgages slightly slowed down, preliminarily decreasing by 3% to 279 billion rubles from 288 billion rubles in April.
The proportion of problem loans remains at historically low levels (0.6%).
In May, consumer lending continued to experience relatively high growth
(+1.7%, compared to +1.2% in April), driven by sustained consumer activity and banks adopting a more lenient credit policy. Additionally, banks may be
108 RUSSIA Country Report July 2023 www.intellinews.com