For the period from February to September 2022, the volume of loans and borrowings of citizens in foreign currency amounted to 52 billion rubles, which was the minimum value since 2015, when these statistics began to be maintained, follows from the data of the Bank of Russia, which Izvestia has read.
At the same time, the total debt of the population in rubles and in foreign currency over the same period even increased by 3% and as of October 1 exceeded 27.8 trillion rubles. Previously, foreign currency loans attracted Russians with lower rates compared to ruble ones, but this advantage becomes insignificant against the background of the risks of a weakening of the national currency, Mark Goykhman, chief economist at the TeleTrade information and analytical center, explained.
He added: increased geopolitical tensions, sanctions pressure and unpredictable prospects have sharply increased the risks in the foreign exchange market in recent months. Also noticeable is the explicit policy of “devaluation” – restrictions have been introduced on the export, purchase, withdrawal, transfers of currencies, and even the storage of such funds in accounts. Foreign currency debts become “toxic” for the Russians, and citizens are switching to borrowing in rubles, the expert noted.
Foreign currency lending in the country also restrains the high risk of non-repayment of funds by borrowers, so the volume of such debts is reduced, explained Alexei Volkov, Marketing Director of the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI).
The Central Bank is purposefully pursuing a policy of reducing currency risks, and most banks have already refused or significantly reduced lending in foreign currencies, added Nikolai Vasilevsky, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Absolut Bank.
Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:
Ruble perspective: foreign currency loans of Russians fell to a minimum
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