In the second quarter of this year, the debt burden of the people living in the majority of Russian regions topped the peak numbers of 2013 and 2014, according to the Bank of Russia’s September report on monetary policy.
The terms of retail loans have been significantly relaxed in all federal districts, mainly due to slackened inflation expectations, slowdown in inflation and lower key interest rate of the Bank of Russia. However, the growth rate of consumer lending decreased in all federal districts over Q2 2019 as a result of the population’s existing debt load. The Bank of Russia estimates that in 75% of the Russian regions the debt burden has already exceeded the old record of 2013–2014.
The Central Bank experts predict that Russians’ debt will continue to grow in the next few years. On September 6, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina announced that the debt is increasing because of individual income stagnation.