Putin held a meeting on economic issues. The main thing

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on economic issues on July 22. The main topics for discussion were the situation in the Russian economy, issues of bank lending and measures to support the regions. The main statements of the head of state are in the material of Izvestia.

On economic growth and bank lending

The President of the Russian Federation drew attention to the fact that the state of the domestic economy and key industries is stable "even despite external attempts to destabilize the situation in the fuel and energy complex and in some other sectors."

Putin said that the Russian economy continues to show growth: in the first five months of 2026, growth amounted to 0.2%. According to him, one of the main factors remains domestic demand from the state, business and citizens.

The President drew special attention to the fact that the dynamics of bank lending is accelerating in the country. He noted the growth in mortgage loans, loans to enterprises and organizations in the real sector of the economy.

"In this regard, I would like to note that the dynamics of bank lending is accelerating. I am referring to mortgage loans, loans to enterprises, organizations, and the real sector of the economy," Putin said, adding that an increase in bank portfolios contributes to the growth of the money supply.

According to him, as of July 1, it increased by about 13% in annual terms.

On the execution of the federal budget

The Russian President also said that in June the federal budget was executed with a surplus of 196 billion rubles. He noted that an important role in this was played by an increase in treasury revenues.

"Moreover, we have added both oil and gas revenues and budget revenues that are not related to the oil and gas sector. These so—called non-oil and gas revenues in the second quarter of this year were more than a quarter higher than in the same period last year," he explained.

On the situation with regional budgets and repayment of loans

The President also noted that the consolidated budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the first half of the year were executed with a deficit approximately at the level of the same period last year. In this regard, according to him, the regions need to provide additional support.

"It is necessary, of course, to provide additional support to the subjects of the Federation and the budget in order to ensure the fulfillment of state obligations at the regional and municipal levels. <...> At the initiative of United Russia, an important decision was made in June: the repayment period of the regions' debt on budget loans was postponed from the current year, 2026 to 2030. This means that the regions have an additional 10 billion rubles at their disposal this year alone," Putin added.

He also said that it is proposed to extend this approach for loans that mature in 2027-2029.

"It is also proposed to postpone the next three years, that is, from 2027 to 2029, but beyond 2030," Putin said.

He stressed that additional resources should be used not only to solve current issues, but also to achieve long—term goals such as economic development, technology and business support.

"In fact, we are talking about providing additional resources to the subjects of the Federation. It can be aimed at solving current problems, as well as stimulating long—term economic growth, supporting technological development, and business activity," the president said, adding that economic policy should be focused on launching a new investment cycle and structural changes in the domestic economy.

Context

According to the results of January-April 2026, it was reported that the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation recorded a 38.3% drop in oil and gas budget revenues to 2.30 trillion rubles, while non—oil and gas revenues increased by 10.20% to 9.42 trillion rubles. The reduction in the share of oil and gas revenues has made the federal budget more sustainable. By the end of 2025, oil and gas revenues accounted for 22.7% of all revenues, and this is the lowest figure in the last ten years and almost half the level of 2015.

It was also reported that the Russian budget should reduce dependence on oil and gas revenues due to the high volatility of the commodity market and the impact of sanctions.