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- The burden is money: business calls the expansion of sanctions the least problem in its work
The burden is money: business calls the expansion of sanctions the least problem in its work
The expansion of sanctions is the least significant problem that restricts the work of businesses, according to a survey by the Central Bank. The EU countries are currently discussing the 19th package of sanctions against Russia, its presentation has been postponed indefinitely. In addition, the United States is also announcing new secondary measures in relation to countries that purchase Russian oil. At the same time, the most significant risks for domestic companies were rising costs and staff shortages. How the business is affected by the growing credit burden and difficulties with calculations — in the material of Izvestia.
What are the difficulties in running a business in 2025?
The business described the expansion of sanctions as one of the least significant difficulties that limit their work. This follows from a survey of enterprises by the Bank of Russia, published in the Central Bank's "Main Directions of the Unified State Monetary Policy" (Izvestia studied it).
At the end of August, the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, called on EU countries to impose secondary sanctions against countries purchasing Russian oil, similar to the US duties on Russian partners. Later, she said that the European Union was finalizing the 19th package of anti-Russian sanctions. As reported by foreign media, the list of new measures may include additional restrictions on the issuance of tourist visas, the movement of diplomats and sanctions against some banks. But on September 16, the representative of the European Commission, Paula Pinho, stressed that discussions were continuing now — the package would be presented as soon as it was ready.
In addition, US President Donald Trump has threatened Russia with new restrictions. On September 13, he announced that he was ready to impose serious sanctions if NATO countries act together and stop buying Russian oil.
Business has already adapted to the sanctions — it has rebuilt logistics, payment channels, and the range of suppliers, said Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). However, in his opinion, the new measures are still lengthening supply chains and increasing the cost of capital.
For example, small businesses were among the first to cope with restrictive measures — this happened due to maneuverability, added Alexander Isaevich, CEO of SME Corporation. He integrated himself into cooperative chains instead of the departed foreign manufacturers, the expert specified.
However, the risk from sanctions remains, for example, in areas related to the import of equipment, software and cloud services, said Dmitry Sytsko, Director of Information Technology at BCS Bank.
Izvestia sent a request to the Central Bank and the Ministry of Energy with a request to clarify whether sanctions can be called a less significant difficulty for companies now.
The most significant difficulty for business in the Central Bank survey was the increase in costs. As explained by Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global, this directly affects the cost of production.
In addition, enterprises see a shortage of personnel as one of the main problems. Unemployment in Russia has been at a record low of 2.2% for the past few months.
The shortage of specialists in some industries, such as construction, has now begun to decrease, according to the Central Bank's report. The maximum shortage of personnel remains in the fields of manufacturing and agriculture. At the same time, increasing employee salaries is one of the main ways to retain staff at enterprises. And this greatly affects business costs.
Among other difficulties, according to the Central Bank, the companies identified a lack of funds to finance working capital, an increase in the credit burden and difficulties with settlements and payments.
International settlements remain one of the most sensitive areas, says Andrei Glushkin, a member of the Council of the MRO Delovaya Rossiya. Many businesses face difficulties in conducting transactions, including delays and the need to find alternative channels, which leads to increased transaction costs.
There is also instability with access to imported equipment and spare parts. The combination of these factors makes the operating environment more complex than the formal sanctions restrictions, Vladimir Chernov believes.
At the end of the list of problems that prevent companies from operating, in addition to the expansion of sanctions, there were issues with logistics and lack of capacity.
How does the credit burden affect the business
The increase in the credit burden was ranked fourth in terms of business difficulties. This is due to the fact that companies have significantly increased spending on interest payments on existing loans — 70% of loans are tied to a key interest rate, which remains high, Alexander Kalinin, president of Opora Russia, told Izvestia earlier.
In October 2024, the Bank of Russia raised the key rate to 21% per annum, and it kept it at this level until June 2025. After that, the regulator began a cycle of rate cuts — at the last meeting on September 12, it lowered it to 17%.
The increase in delays also indicates an increase in the burden on the business. As Izvestia wrote, in January – May 2025, small and medium-sized businesses received loans of almost 6 trillion rubles, a quarter less than in 2024. At the same time, total debt increased by 9% to about 16 trillion, and overdue payments increased significantly more — by 14%, to 766 billion. This has been a record since at least 2021. In general, in the first seven months of this year, banks have given about 8 trillion rubles to small and medium-sized enterprises, according to the Central Bank.
Nevertheless, the data from the Bank of Russia shows that businesses still need loans to cover costs or increase working capital, said Vladimir Chernov of Freedom Finance Global. That is, companies remain active, and banks are "ready to lend to them.
At the same time, the growing debt burden makes SMEs more vulnerable to rate changes and revenue declines, he stressed. For some businesses, loans are becoming not a source of development, but a necessary tool for maintaining liquidity and working capital. This increases the financial risks for small companies in the event of a slowdown in economic growth.
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