Equity pass: banks rejected almost 80% of Russians' loan applications
Banks reject almost 80% of Russians' applications for loans, according to NBKI data (available from Izvestia). Moreover, the share of refusals for mortgages increased in July — even with the effect of preferential programs, less than half of applications are approved by Russians. Despite the reduction in the key rate from 21% to 18%, the market situation has not improved. Banks are tightening loan conditions due to an increase in loan delinquencies, which makes the market more attentive to new borrowers. Mass refusals can increase the popularity of "black" creditors. When loans will become more available, see the Izvestia article.
Why banks don't give loans
By the end of July, the share of loan approvals was only 21.4%. This follows from the data of the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI), which was studied by Izvestia. Currently, only one in four or five applications for car loans and consumer loans is approved, while the rejection rate for mortgages is approaching 60%, despite preferential programs.
Even the reduction in the key rate to 18% and the reduction in loan rates hardly changed the number of approvals — the indicator increased by only 0.7%. According to Izvestia, by the beginning of August, the average level of real loan rates had dropped to 35%.
Banks are tightening their risk policy in response to an increase in overdue loans issued earlier, the Central Bank's press service stressed. Borrowers with a higher debt burden are more likely to be delinquent. Therefore, the Bank of Russia restricts the granting of loans to such borrowers and regulates their share.
— Problems with overdue loans partly reflect the pressure on real household incomes and on their budgets due to inflation and rising payments on loans already taken out, — said Vladimir Chernov.
In the second quarter of 2025, the level of overdue debts of Russians on mortgages and car loans almost doubled compared to the same period last year, Izvestia previously wrote. Because of this, banks have to select clients more carefully, said Alexey Kiryukhin, a leading analyst on bank ratings at Expert RA. Market players are preemptively reducing disbursements so as not to accumulate future defaults.
How to get a loan application approved
"The tightening of scoring by banks is a necessary measure against the background of Central Bank regulation," said the head of the Bank's expert analytics.<url> Inna Soldatenkova.
If a client spends more than 80% of his income on debt servicing, the probability of refusal to issue a loan is close to 100%, because it is simply unprofitable for banks to issue such a loan, the expert noted. According to her, the share of such borrowers is limited by the Central Bank. At the same time, even if the debt burden is 50% of the income, the risk of failure is very high.
The low share of approvals is due to the high level of creditworthiness of Russians — the total amount of debts at the end of 2024 reached almost 37 trillion rubles, added economist Andrey Barkhota. Russians with existing loans will most likely simply not be able to apply for a new loan.
In any case, it will be more difficult for even the average borrower to take out a loan now, concluded Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. Young people or clients with credit history problems are also rejected very often, the expert noted.
In addition, the high cost of loans is also affected — due to high interest rates, banks have to closely monitor the assessment of borrowers, said Alexey Volkov, NBKI Marketing Director.
What to do if a loan is refused
Usually, if a bank refuses money, the borrower goes to a microfinance organization (MFO), noted economist Andrei Barkhota. There is a higher chance of getting a loan, but more often they do not approve the entire requested amount, but only a part. According to VTsIOM, in 2024, 32% of borrowers applied to MFIs because of lower requirements for customers, and 30% after the bank refused a loan.
However, banking trends are also reflected in the microloan market — even there, 80% of customers are rejected, the press service of SRO MIR noted.
It added: in dire need of funds, the client can then turn to illegal players. According to various estimates, the number of potential clients of "black" lenders can reach several tens of millions of people.
"Both the regulator and market participants must take this risk into account in order to prevent the growth of the shadow segment," warned Andrey Ponomarev, CEO of Webbankir.
At risk are people who are denied loans by banks, as well as those who, due to low financial literacy, trust advertising promises and do not check the organization in the registry, the MIR SRO noted. Russians with unstable employment and high debt burden are particularly vulnerable.
— First of all, moneylenders are approached because of the urgent need for money, - said Andrey Barkhota.
Such lenders advertise their services on social networks and messengers, work "from hand to hand," and often disguise themselves as "assistance in approving loans," said Vladimir Chernov. The risks here are maximum — the rates on such loans are bonded, hidden fees are possible.
Collectors often use illegal methods of collection, including threats and pressure, which in extreme cases can be life-threatening, according to the VTSIOM study "Risks of illegal Lending in Russia." If a debt is not repaid, people may lose property, and due to the lack of licenses and transparent contracts, it is difficult to defend their rights in court.
— "Black" creditors enter into a loan agreement — such relationships are of a civil nature and are not subject to the supervision of the Central Bank. In fact, anyone can apply for a loan with another person, and according to the law, the terms of the contract will have to be respected," explained economist Andrei Barkhota.
Even in the presence of laws and penalties, illegal creditors continue to work. Their fines are small — from 300 thousand to 1 million rubles, according to a VTsIOM study.
To avoid the risks of the growth of the shadow lending market, it is important to develop financial literacy among Russians and inform them about the risks, concluded Vladimir Chernov.
A further reduction in the key rate will still increase the chances of obtaining loans, as this will reduce the amount of monthly payments, said Inna Soldatenkova from <url>. To obtain a new loan, you will need to prove to the bank that you have a lower income level. This means that they can ease the conditions for issuing new loans, and the share of approvals will increase. Vladimir Chernov concluded: as a result, the stronger and faster the key falls, the easier it will be to get a loan.
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