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- Plastic has been recycled: the limit on the number of cards in one bank will start working in September
Plastic has been recycled: the limit on the number of cards in one bank will start working in September
Starting from September 1, 2026, a limit on the number of cards issued by one bank comes into force — no more than ten, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at an annual meeting with market participants. She also noted an increase in the number of problem loans and announced stricter supervision of high-risk financial institutions. In addition, the head of the regulator called on banks to consider writing off part of the mortgage debts for Russians who purchased individual housing, but because of unscrupulous market players did not receive their homes. The regulator recommended more active restructuring of loans for such clients. For more information about other statements by the head of the Central Bank— see the Izvestia article.
When will the limit on the number of cards in one bank start working?
Starting from September 1, 2026, Russia will introduce a limit on the number of bank cards that can be issued per person — no more than ten, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said on March 5 at a meeting of representatives of credit institutions with the regulator's leadership. According to her, in parallel, work is underway to create a unified card accounting system that will allow interbank control over the number of "plastic" issued per person. It should start working in a year.
Starting in 2027, it will be possible to issue no more than 20 cards per person. The chairman of the Central Bank clarified: exceptions are possible for some types of "plastic" with a low risk of fraud, for example, children's cards. The restriction is introduced primarily to combat the withdrawal of funds through droppers — people who provide their cards to intruders to cash out money.
Chairman of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina at the annual meeting of credit institutions with the leadership of the Bank of Russia at the Sberbank Corporate University
Elvira Nabiullina also said that the Central Bank may start fining banks for violating the rights of customers and ignoring their complaints. Previously, the regulator was mainly limited to recommendations, but if they are not followed, measures will now be applied.
The head of the Bank of Russia also noted that the share of problem loans has increased after a period of active lending, but the figures are far from historical highs and are already beginning to decline. The improvement in the quality of portfolios is associated with restrictions on the issuance of loans to borrowers with a high debt burden. At the same time, Elvira Nabiullina stressed that in Russia there is still a problem of organizations that promise citizens assistance in paying off debts, but after contacting them, "the client's situation often gets even worse."
Companies and citizens are increasingly facing difficulties in servicing loans: due to extremely high interest rates, even interest payments without repayment of the principal are becoming unaffordable for many borrowers, said Boris Kopeikin, chief economist at the Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics. In these circumstances, banks are forced to take into account the growing risks, both through higher rates and through the refusal of some potential customers to issue loans. At the same time, there are no prerequisites for systemic problems in the banking system now, the expert believes.
In addition, the Central Bank plans to introduce a system for assessing the risk profile of banks, Elvira Nabiullina said. For organizations with low scores, supervision will become stricter and requirements will be tightened, while banks with more stable indicators will be regulated more gently.
The head of the Central Bank also noted that the regulator has raised the forecast of banking sector profits for 2026: credit institutions will be able to earn from 3.3 to 3.8 trillion rubles.
The Central Bank urged banks to forgive part of the debts on residential housing
The Bank of Russia has recommended that credit institutions restructure non-performing loans for the construction of individual housing for borrowers who have not received their homes. Special attention should be paid to socially vulnerable debtors. In some cases, it is advisable for banks to consider the possibility of partial or even complete debt cancellation, especially if customers "objectively cannot service the mortgage," said Elvira Nabiullina.
According to the regulator, the banking sector will need about 4 billion rubles to settle such problem loans.
The problem concerns mortgages for the construction of private homes issued before March 2025, explained Igor Rastorguev, a leading analyst at AMarkets. The essence of the scheme was as follows: the borrower received a loan for the construction of a house, and the bank transferred the money directly to the contractor. If he turned out to be unscrupulous, the funds could disappear, and construction could not begin or stop halfway. As a result, the borrower was left with a large debt and accrued interest, but without a built home.
The scale of the problem turned out to be so serious that it was raised on a direct line with the president in December 2024, said Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department at the Rikom-Trust investment company. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, by April 2025, about 30 thousand criminal cases had been initiated against unscrupulous contractors in the field of residential housing.
According to the Central Bank, about 30 thousand families faced difficulties in completing the construction, added Vasily Kutyin, Ingo Bank's Director of analytics. Another 5,000 customers found themselves in a situation where contractors went bankrupt or simply disappeared, and construction was never completed.
It is important to distinguish between two types of problematic situations in this market, said Anton Saukov, head of the center for suburban real estate at the federal company Floors. On the one hand, there are outright fraudulent schemes when the contractor initially did not intend to build a house. On the other hand, there are cases when companies are faced with a cash gap and are unable to complete a project.
According to him, high loan rates worsened the situation of such contractors: many of them were unable to transfer loans to complete the construction. In parallel, legal proceedings and penalties began, which further worsened the financial situation of the companies.
As a result, many families found themselves in a particularly difficult situation.: they continue to pay the mortgage, but they have not received housing, the expert added. At the same time, under the terms of some programs, such as family mortgages, the house must be registered and pledged to the bank within two years after the loan is issued. If this does not happen, the rate subsidy may be canceled, and there is virtually nothing to transfer to the financial institution.
To avoid a repeat of such cases, the rules for lending to residential housing have been changed. Since March 2025, escrow accounts have become mandatory for such projects, Igor Rastorguev recalled. Now the borrower's money is blocked in the bank and transferred to the contractor only after the completion of construction and delivery of the house.
In fact, escrow accounts act as a guarantee that the house will actually be built, Anton Saukov noted. The contractor receives funds only after fulfilling its obligations, similar to the system already operating in the multi—apartment construction market. However, there is a downside to this model. According to experts, not all construction companies can work according to these rules: this requires their own working capital and strict financial discipline. Because of this, some small contractors have left the market.
At first glance, the amount of 4 billion rubles, which the Central Bank estimates as the cost of solving the problem of "abandoned" residential housing mortgages, seems relatively small. For comparison, in January 2026 alone, Russian banks made a net profit of 394 billion rubles.
Nevertheless, behind these figures are real families who find themselves with debts but without housing, Igor Rastorguev noted. For credit institutions, resolving the issue means finding a balance between financial losses and reputational risks. The regulator's position is advisory, so each organization will make its own decision.
In his opinion, large banks are likely to show flexibility and try to resolve the problem, especially given the attention of the Central Bank. Smaller players have less room for maneuver: their financial cushion is usually much thinner.
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