Loan disbursements have more than halved in a year

In May 2025, banks issued slightly more than a million credit cards to Russians, which is 60% less than a year earlier, according to data from the United Credit Bureau. The limits were also approved twice as much — their total volume at the end of the month amounted to 128 billion rubles.

They can't borrow: How banks are robbing young people of a credit future

And what the mass distribution of funds to 18-19 year olds is leading to

On average, Russians approve credit cards with a maximum debt of 127 thousand rubles. The sharp drop in indicators compared to 2024 is a steady trend that has been observed since the beginning of the year. In the first five months of 2025, the number of credit cards issued also halved compared to the same period last year.

"Under conditions of strict regulation by the Central Bank, banks are much less likely to approve new credit card limits," explained Egor Lopatin, head of the financial Institutions ratings group at the NKR Agency.

Banks also continued to worsen credit card conditions and cut customer limits during the entire five months of 2025, Izvestia previously wrote. Many clients complained that the maximum amount of debt on their plastic was reduced many times — there were cases when it decreased by 20 times.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Plastic withdrawal: credit card issuance in Russia has halved in a year