Reserve for exit: banks began to sharply reduce limits on credit cards
Bank clients have faced sudden reductions in credit card limits by several times or even to zero, Izvestia has found out. Market participants are taking such measures because of the Central Bank's restrictions on the share of borrowers with high debt load. In addition, financial organizations are not profitable to keep credit cards with a free period, when rates on consumer loans exceed 30%. Therefore, clients are also reduced grace periods and increased fees for cash withdrawals and transfers. What to do in this case and how such changes will affect inflation - in the material "Izvestia".
Banks sharply reduce limits on credit cards
Banks have begun to sharply reduce the limits on credit cards, wrote users of the forum "Banki.ru". Their complaints were studied by Izvestia. They can be cut several times without warning - the problem was reported by clients of three major market participants. The number of such cases increased in November-December this year.
In particular, VTB clients reported that they were reduced limits twice, and nine times, and even 20 times - for example, one of them was reduced from 200 thousand to 10 thousand rubles. Another user told Izvestia that his limit was canceled without warning, but then, at his request, it was returned.
Limits may be reduced for customers with a high debt load or late payments, explained "Izvestia" in the press service of the bank.
Users of credit cards of Alfa-Bank faced similar situations, follows from the data from the forum "Banki.ru".
In addition, customers "Sber" reported that the bank canceled their credit limits, which have not been used for a long time. Prior to the organization sent a notice - to save the amount it was necessary to carry out at least one operation on the card. Nevertheless, in two out of three cases, bank employees restored access to funds after the complaint.
"Izvestia" sent inquiries to the banks mentioned, as well as other major players.
Having clients with a high debt load is now costly for banks because of the Central Bank's macroprudential limits (MPL), explained Freedom Finance Global analyst Vladimir Chernov. They limit the share of high-risk borrowers - those who spend most of their income on debt servicing.
For example, now a financial organization can have among all its debtors no more than 15% of borrowers who spend more than 50% of their income on their loans.
At the same time, when assessing the debt load, the entire amount of the credit card limit is taken into account - even if the actual debt does not approach its upper limit, explained economist Andrei Barkhota. Therefore, it is easier for banks to reduce the amount of funds that clients will be able to get in order not to face additional expenses due to the MPL.
Banks are preparing for the key rate hike on December 20
Banks are now generally approving fewer and fewer loans against the background of rising interest rates and borrowing of the population, said Yuri Belikov, Managing Director of Expert RA rating agency. At the same time, the demand for borrowed funds has not disappeared - it has shifted to "plastic".
Banks are preparing to raise the key rate on December 20 - according to the consensus forecast of Izvestia, it may rise to 23%. Because of this, the debt burden on clients will increase additionally - that is why market participants are trying to increase the quality of the loan portfolio in advance, explained Vladimir Chernov.
The segment of credit cards is less sensitive to the key, because the rates on them can already exceed it many times, said the analyst. They also give grace period, during which the client can in principle not pay interest - the financial literacy of Russians is growing and many take advantage of this. Therefore, banks may not receive interest income on some cards at all.
Money in the economy is now "expensive" because of the high key interest rate. This forces banks to compensate the cost of funding by lending, OTP Bank clarified. That is why the rates on "plastic" can grow, and the conditions worsen.
It is unprofitable for banks to keep credit cards when rates on consumer loans, as "Izvestia" wrote earlier, exceed 31%. Whereas on "plastic" clients are usually offered a grace period of several months.
How else banks worsen conditions on credit cards
In the context of rising deposit rates, banks have to either raise fees or worsen conditions - for example, reduce the grace period or reduce the limits on cashback, said Andrei Barkhota.
Over the past two months, the minimum rates on credit cards on average increased by 4 p.p., although their maximum level has decreased, said expert analyst "Banki.ru" Eryania Bochkina. As a result, the total cost of credit (TCC) on them increased by 4.5 p.p., almost to 35%. This indicator reflects all expenses associated with the maintenance of credit cards, including fees, service fees or insurance. This means that banks are raising the cost of such services faster than credit card rates.
- Credit card terms are worsening in Russia. Banks are raising interest rates, lowering limits, reducing grace periods, tightening requirements for their registration and increasing fees on transfers and cash withdrawals, - confirmed Vladimir Chernov.
This was also confirmed in the press service of VTB - they specified that it is the tightening of the Central Bank's policy that forces banks to adjust the conditions for all types of products. Because of this, the market will continue to shrink - the "credit winter" in Russia will continue in 2025.
- We see preconditions for large-scale campaigns to reduce credit limits in December 2024 throughout the market. This is necessary to reduce pressure on capital," said Mikhail Aleksin, General Director of the United Credit Bureau (UCB).
At the same time, credit cards play a weighty role in the Russian economy, as they allow Russians to more easily borrow money for purchases, said Vladimir Chernov. But now it is important to slow down the demand for goods and services in order to stabilize inflation - this is the main goal of the Central Bank. The slowdown in all types of lending will allow production to "catch up" with consumption and stop the acceleration of prices.
