Abundance of funds: banks began to approve loans to Russians more often
The share of approvals for applications for retail loans has increased since the beginning of 2026 and approached 25% by the beginning of summer, according to NBKI data. Nevertheless, banks still reject about three out of four applications for borrowed money. Loan rates are still prohibitive - high monthly payments cut off a significant part of Russians from lending. In addition, the Central Bank's restrictions do not allow banks to lend money to borrowers who plan to spend more than half of their income on debt servicing. How to increase the chances of loan approval is in the Izvestia article.
What is the percentage of approvals for loan applications
Since the beginning of 2026, the share of approvals for all retail loans has increased from 17.7% to 24.7%, according to NBKI data, which was studied by Izvestia. That is, by the end of May, banks agreed to issue only one loan out of four applications. Russians continued to receive refusals for 75% of applications for borrowed money.
The mortgage situation has changed slightly. If at the beginning of the year banks approved about 38% of applications, then in May the figure reached only 40%, that is, more than half of potential borrowers were rejected anyway. At the same time, as Izvestia previously reported, financial organizations often reduce the amount of the approved amount by about a third of the requested amount on average.
The situation looks better in the consumer and car loans segment. According to the NBKI, the share of positive decisions there already steadily exceeds a quarter of all applications.
The increase in approvals is due to lower interest rates and a gradual reduction in the cost of loans, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global. Since the beginning of the year, the Central Bank's rate has dropped from 16 to 14.5%. The regulator's policy remains tough, but even such changes are pushing some Russians to enter into transactions.
The citizens' need for borrowed funds remains high, the financial advisor and founder of Rodin confirmed.Capital Alexey Rodin. Due to rising prices, many people first postpone large purchases, try to save money on their own, and then, if necessary, still apply for a loan.
The seasonal factor has also supported the market, says Igor Korchagin, head of the Credit Rating product at Compare. According to him, March and April are traditionally accompanied by increased demand after the winter months, and the improvement in loan issuance conditions attracted some people who had previously postponed applying for a loan. In the first five months of 2026, the volume of cash loans was more than 30% higher than a year earlier.
Against the background of lower interest rates, less well-credited customers with a low level of risk began to apply to banks, the VTB press service said.
An additional driver was the growing interest in refinancing, said Evgeny Ivanov, Director of the PSB Retail Risks Department. According to him, many borrowers combine several loans or reissue them at lower rates, reducing the monthly payment. The probability of approval for such applications is higher, as they generally contribute to reducing the debt burden of customers.
Why do banks still approve a small proportion of applications
Despite the growing number of positive decisions, financial organizations generally note that the situation has not changed much so far. A representative of Sovcombank said that the share of refusals for retail loans is now only 3% lower than last year's level, and the PSB said that the approval rate has remained stable since the beginning of the year.
One of the reasons is the change in the rules for assessing borrowers, explained Nikita Kulagin, head of the Macroeconomic Analysis Department at Sovcombank. Starting from January 1, 2026, credit institutions will rely only on officially confirmed incomes of citizens when making decisions.
But the Central Bank's restrictions on issuing loans to borrowers with high debt loads are especially important, Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global, added. If the client plans to spend more than 50% of the income on servicing, the probability of failure on the part of the bank increases dramatically.
— In conditions of high interest rates, even a modest consumer loan dramatically raises the assessment of the debt burden. As a result, borrowers with average incomes automatically fall into the zone of restrictions," explained Denis Astafyev, founder of the SharesPro fintech platform.
Even after several key rate cuts, the cost of loans remains high, Natalia Milchakova added. According to her, a market mortgage now costs about 18-20% per annum, and a cash loan often costs at least 30-33% per annum.
The reduction in the key rate has not yet had time to fully affect the cost of borrowed money — it takes about six months, Igor Korchagin noted. Banks still have obligations to customers on expensive deposits, the yield on which could exceed 15-16%. Until they are repaid, market participants will not be able to significantly reduce rates, Denis Astafyev explained.
"Also, some banks have tightened their scoring models due to the accumulation of overdue debts on previously issued loans,— the press service of Novik Bank clarified.
The volume of overdue payments by individuals reached 1.67 trillion rubles, and in the first quarter banks put up for sale problem debts of 83.2 billion — twice as much as a year earlier, Denis Astafyev added. Because of this, financial institutions have to allocate more funds to reserves for problem loans, which reduces their risk appetite.
Caution is also explained by high uncertainty, according to financial advisor and founder of Rodin.Capital Alexey Rodin. According to him, most clients are able to predict their financial situation only three to six months in advance. If the requested loan term is longer, the bank has to independently assess the prospects of a person's solvency, and his assessment may be more rigorous.
How to increase the chances of loan approval
Before contacting the bank, you should check your credit history in advance, added Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global. If there are problems with it, the financial organization will consider the client more risky. In such a situation, it makes sense for the borrower to offer additional collateral in the form of an apartment or a car, or to consider the possibility of attracting a co-borrower.
An additional advantage is contacting a bank where a salary account or deposit has already been opened, Denis Astafyev noted. For existing clients, credit institutions often use milder scoring criteria and offer better conditions.
Forgotten credit cards can affect the calculation of the debt burden, Igor Korchagin from Compare recalled. Even if they are not used, open limits are taken into account when assessing the borrower's debt burden and may lead to a refusal of the application.
As the key rate continues to decrease, the situation should gradually improve, concluded Nikita Kulagin from Sovcombank. By the end of the year, it may drop to 12%. This will lead to lower rates on new loans and monthly payments, which, coupled with continued growth in real wages, will make lending available to more Russians.
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