Reduce the time: Russians began to actively repay loans ahead of schedule
In January 2026, Russians repaid a quarter more loans ahead of schedule than a year earlier, Izvestia found out. The trend continued in the fourth quarter of 2025, when borrowers prematurely closed debts worth more than 1 trillion rubles (+35% year-on-year). Experts say that people are trying to pay off loans that they took out at high rates faster. In addition, due to the reduction in the key interest rate, it becomes less profitable to keep money on deposits, and people prefer to close loans faster. In these circumstances, there are cases when some banks require early repayment of interest for the entire term of the loan, although the law restricts this. How to close a loan ahead of time is in the Izvestia article.
Why is the volume of early loan repayments growing?
The volume of early loan repayments in the fourth quarter of 2025 increased by 35% year-on-year and exceeded 1 trillion rubles, according to data from the United Credit Bureau (OKB), which was studied by Izvestia. 500 billion of this amount accounted for cash loans, 362 billion for mortgages, and 156 billion for car loans. At the same time, the annual growth in early repayment of car loans was twofold.
In January 2026, volumes traditionally decreased to 276 billion rubles, but this is still a quarter higher than in January 2025. 56% of all early repayments accounted for the complete closure of debt, the rest for partial reduction of liabilities.
Gazprombank attributed the surge in activity to the payment of the 13th salary in December. The growth in early repayment volumes was confirmed by Dom banks.RF" and PSB. At the same time, Novik Bank does not note any special dynamics.
Russians are trying to close loans that they have applied for in previous years in advance due to high interest rates, said Mikhail Aleksin, General Director of OKB. The higher the interest on the loan, the more expensive it is to service it and the more profitable it is to repay it ahead of time. Many borrowers initially planned to do just that.
A year ago, the key rate reached a record 21%, consumer loan rates could reach 26-40%, and mortgage rates could reach 22-26%. The overpayment on such loans is significant even for short periods of time. And many people took out housing loans for 25 years at that time — the total overpayment on them could be 2.5–3 times the amount taken.
After a period of high interest rates, borrowers have become more sensitive to full loan overpayments, said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global. When debt is expensive, any available amount is more often used to repay it rather than consume it.
When a borrower has to take out a loan at a high rate, he will in any case try to reduce the body of the debt faster in order to avoid overpayment, explained Natalia Bogomolova, director of NRA ratings of financial institutions.
In addition, in conditions of high uncertainty, people tend to reduce their monthly debt costs. Early repayment is now a way to save on interest and restore personal financial stability, added Vladimir Chernov.
How to close a loan ahead of schedule
It is beneficial for borrowers to repay the loan as quickly as possible, Natalia Bogomolova noted. Then, if the key balance is reduced, it can be refinanced on more favorable terms — a person can reissue the loan at a reduced rate.
If the interest on loans is lower than the current deposit rates, early repayment is still unprofitable, Bogomolova added. According to her, in this case, it is more profitable to direct free money not to pay off debt, but to deposits.
However, lowering the key rate reduces deposit income, which will make such a scheme less attractive, added Mikhail Aleksin from OKB.
"As the key interest rate decreased, the moment came when the optimal solution was to withdraw savings and repay debt ahead of schedule," the expert noted.
At the same time, early repayment of the loan makes it less profitable for the bank, explained Natalia Bogomolova from the NRA. The credit institution expects to receive interest income for the entire term of the loan — up to 30 years, and upon early closure, especially in the early years, the bulk of the interest is lost.
Premature repayment does not worsen the credit history, because it does not show a decrease in solvency, said Bogomolova. However, if such payments occur frequently, this may signal to the bank that the client's margin is low and influence future loan decisions.
Usually, banks with stable risk models do not prevent early repayment of loans, said Mikhail Bryukhanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pervouralskbank JSC. Financial organizations spend resources on attracting customers, so the lost profit is felt, but it is in no way comparable to default. The debt paid, even ahead of schedule, remains good.
However, if a person took out a loan as an individual entrepreneur or self-employed, then it is considered commercial, and here banks can already charge fines for early repayment or commissions, Mikhail Bryukhanov added.
Until 2011, banks could limit early repayment and demand interest for the entire term from all borrowers, said Alexandra Pozharskaya, deputy project manager of the Popular Front for Borrowers' Rights. Now Russians have a clear right to pay off a loan prematurely without commission, but they need to notify the bank of their plans 30 calendar days in advance, and sometimes even 14 business days.
Nevertheless, there are cases on the market when borrowers are required to pay interest in case of early loan closure, said economist Andrei Barkhota. This is much less common in the case of mortgages and car loans, most often with credit cards.
Vladimir Chernov, an analyst at Freedom Finance Global, confirmed that there have been cases of interest withholding by a financial institution over the entire period. They were not rare, but eventually they were disputed, he stressed. If the bank still tries to oblige the client to pay interest for the entire period of use of borrowed funds, the decision should be appealed, and it is important to inform the Central Bank about the situation.
The trend towards early repayment or refinancing of loans in the market is likely to continue against the background of the projected reduction in the key interest rate, Novik Bank noted.
Early repayment of loans is most often possible for people with stable income, bonuses, a "liquidity cushion", inheritance or a tax deduction, said Vladimir Chernov. This is mainly an average and above-average segment with good payment discipline. Less well-off borrowers have fewer opportunities for early repayment, so they are more likely to face delays or go to MFIs. The increase in early repayments by itself does not solve the problem of vulnerable groups, but rather highlights the stratification within the retail credit market.
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