Page 115 - RusRPTJul23

(+2.1-2.2%)," the Central Bank said. The share of bad loans remains at a historically low level of 0.6%, the regulator added.
About 30 Russian banks have joined China’s CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System) which enables payments in yuan, Vedomosti reported. Thus far, most Russian banks are indirect participants rather than direct members: the latter have their own CIPS accounts and exchange messages through the system. Indirect users access the system via a direct partner, opening accounts via correspondent banks. Only Chinese-based organisations and their subsidiaries can be direct participants. The only Russian bank to connect directly to the Chinese system is a subsidiary of IBC Bank, China’s biggest, a source from a top-10 bank told Vedomosti.
Russian mortgage lending will rise by half in 2023, First Deputy CEO of Russia's largest bank Sber Kirill Tsaryov told delegates at St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on June 14.
Sber forecasts a 46% rise in disbursements compared to 2022 and extending mortgage loans totalling RUB3.8 trillion ($44.9bn) this year, surpassing the RUB2.6 trillion ($30.7bn) disbursed in the previous year.
Tsaryov highlighted that the average mortgage loan period at Sberbank has seen a notable increase, growing by six years from 18 to 24 years. This trend of an extended average mortgage term has been ongoing since 2019, reflecting changing borrowing patterns and preferences.
VTB Bank, another major player in the Russian banking sector, also projects a record high for mortgage lending in 2023. Anatoly Pechatnikov, Deputy CEO of VTB Bank, stated that the bank has revised its forecast, expecting housing loans to exceed RUB6 trillion ($70.95bn) for the first time in the history of the Russian market. This would mark a significant increase of almost a third compared to the previous year, indicating a robust recovery for the mortgage segment in Russia.
"VTB has revised the forecast of mortgage lending market evolution in 2023. According to a new estimate of the Bank, borrowers will formalize housing loans to the amount over six trillion rubles for the first time in the history of the Russian market. This will be almost a third above the last-year result and within limits of 10% - for record-high sales in 2021. Hence the mortgage segment in Russia will recover completely," the banker said.
Amidst these positive developments in the mortgage lending market, Sber CEO Herman Gref expressed confidence in the Russian economy's growth prospects. Gref stated in an interview with RBC that the economy will not stagnate and is projected to grow by around 2% in 2023, with a rebound to pre-pandemic levels within the next two years.
115 RUSSIA Country Report July 2023 www.intellinews.com