VTsIOM found out that the share of those who practically never borrow money for the period from 2004 to 2024 increased by 20% – up to 56% of respondents. Invest-Foresight studied with Nikita Maslennikov, head of Economics and Finance at the Institute of Modern Development, the data of a sociological survey about how and why the credit preferences of Russians have changed.
– Nikita Ivanovich, a little more than half of Russians practically never borrow money. Why do you think is that so? They have nothing to give back?
– I think that, of course, the share of those who practically never borrow, as they say, is “flexible.” And maybe even in the last couple of years, the share of those who take loans, on the contrary, has grown. We see this both in consumer loans, as well as in microloans, and even more so in mortgage lending – in all these segments there is a fairly strong increase.
– And yet every second person tries not to borrow…
– The motivation to borrow from the bank suffers and decreases. Firstly, because after it, there is a certain decrease in living standards. Those who do not take loans – it is quite possible that these are citizens who understand that there will be nothing to service these loans.
There is a very interesting indicator called the “maximum debt burden”. Let’s remember why regulators began to tighten standards on mortgages? Because in this segment, up to half of borrowers, and even in some months more, spent 50% to 80% of their monthly income on servicing their loans.
Naturally, any loan is a fairly serious debt burden. Moreover, there is always a risk of falling into a debt trap: delay and other problems. And although our number of personal bankruptcies is not yet very large and is measured in thousands, this figure is growing from year to year, especially in 2022-2023.
These motivations explain why more and more citizens are trying not to deal with loans at all. Someone has already “got burn”, someone had a negative experience with friends. And many take loans, but take them in order to solve some serious problem. For example, to buy a car.
– And a man who does not need a new car, will travel on the old one…
– Yes, the restriction in consumption as a reason that people do not want to get into new debts is also present. As well as high loan rates, of course. Today, the average loan probably comes out at 25% per annum and even higher, and such interest is a very serious reason to stop and not borrow money.
– The second nuance revealed by VTsIOM specialists is that 55% of respondents borrow from loved ones, not banks. Are the rates on loans too high or do they prefer to borrow small amounts that, in fact, loved ones have? Payday loans?
– I think the totality of the factors plays a role here. Of which the “convenience of servicing” of such “loans” prevails. Well, small amounts, of course. On the one hand, microloans also lend small amounts, but there any day of delay leads to the fact that the total amount of debt increases by almost hundreds of percent.
In the case of a personal loan, you can always settle terms, convince, especially friends and relatives. Older relatives so often “forget” about debt. In general, a personal loan is,
– And finally, the last: young people have a desire to take a loan much less often than people of older generations – 20% versus 34%. The end of the era of consumption and hello the era of rental and lack of private property?
– Financially young people are not very wealthy, and their needs are quite seriously limited. The standards of consumption today are slightly different than some time ago. In addition, young people today for a long time continue to depend on the family and not to go into danger-free independent swimming.
In addition, what do young people borrow money for? For purchase of a smartphone, some other gadget, the ability to go somewhere. For this, banks are completely optional, as well as bank credit cards.
Financial restrictions are also present. Today young people, especially students, can not afford too much because they’ll have to pay off their debts later.
– But you just have to grow up…
– Yes, exactly! But immediately there is a jump in the increase in the share of those who use credit resources as soon as a full-fledged independent life begins, when a person enters the labor market and gets some position there.
Lifestyle changes. Especially if a family appears, married people are generally more likely to take loans than singles.
In general – why does the older generation use loans? Because the volume of worries is greater. And young people also cannot get away from this over time.