In Russia, the demand for online loans has reached an annual maximum

In the first quarter of 2026, Russians' demand for online loans reached its highest level in the last year. This is evidenced on April 17 by a review of the financial marketplace " <url>".

The microloan segment grew the most — the number of applications increased by 181% compared to the same period last year. Experts attribute this to the flow of borrowers who find it more difficult to get approval from traditional banks, TASS reports.

The number of applications for cash loans increased by 52% year—on-year, and for credit cards by 102%. At the same time, the average requested limit on cards decreased significantly: from 320 thousand rubles to 201.7 thousand rubles, and the average amount of a cash loan, on the contrary, increased and reached 457 thousand rubles.

Demand for car loans in the first quarter decreased by 2% compared to the peak figures at the end of 2025, but in annual terms it was still almost six times higher. It is noted that mortgages have become less in demand: the number of applications fell by 10% in the quarter, although it increased by 21% over the year.

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On the same day, the Central Bank of Russia said that the increase in household mortgage debt in March, according to preliminary data, amounted to 0.3% after 0.2% in February. The regulator noted that the weak dynamics was due to the high demand for "Family Mortgages" from November 2025 to January 2026: borrowers sought to take out a loan before tightening mortgage conditions from February 1, 2026.

As Evgeny Senkovsky, CEO of the Balance Platform company, suggested on April 16, with a rate of 12% or lower in Russia, there may be a significant increase in demand for mortgages. At the same time, the demand for mortgages in the country continues to be restrained.