The economist spoke about the reasons for the drop in approvals in MFIs

The share of approved applications in microfinance organizations (MFIs) has decreased to its lowest levels since the beginning of 2022 amid stricter regulation. Ilya Rusyaev, a business consultant and founder of the Rusyaev Club business community, told Izvestia about this on April 15.

"The figures for the first quarter of 2025 look significant. The share of approved applications from new clients of MFIs dropped to 17%, and among repeat borrowers it immediately fell by nine percentage points and amounted to 70%. This is the minimum since the beginning of 2022, and this is not just a seasonal decline, but a systemic restructuring of the entire microcredit segment," the expert noted, stating that the key factor in this dynamic was the strengthening of macroprudential requirements from the Bank of Russia.

Rusyaev explained that microfinance organizations are required to take into account the indicator of the client's debt burden. If the established threshold is exceeded, it becomes impossible to issue a loan without violating regulations, for which serious sanctions are provided, including the exclusion of the company from the register.

The expert noted that the tightening of requirements had a stronger impact on repeat borrowers. This is due to the fact that they often already have existing obligations that increase their debt burden. As a result, new customers without a credit history are more likely to meet the requirements, despite less experience interacting with MFIs.

Restrictions for microloans are introduced in Russia: new conditions of receipt and repayment are named

Borrowers will be limited in the number of expensive microloans and a cooling-off period will be introduced.

Rusyaev also noted the risk of shadow lending growth. According to him, with a reduction in the availability of legal loans, some borrowers may turn to illegal lenders, where there are no restrictions on rates and control over collection methods.

He stressed that a reversal of the trend should not be expected in the second quarter. The regulator continues to tighten requirements, including the discussion of new restrictions on rates and the number of loans per client.

According to the expert, in these conditions, MFIs will be forced to change their business models, focusing on the quality of their loan portfolio rather than the volume of loans.

The day before, Kommersant, citing data from SRO MiR, reported that microfinance organizations in the first quarter approved a record low proportion of applications since the beginning of 2022. Stricter requirements for borrowers have led to a sharp reduction in the number of microloans issued.

The share of approved applications from new customers decreased by three percentage points to 17%, while the rate for repeat borrowers fell by nine percentage points to 70%. Market participants attribute the drop to the introduction of macroprudential restrictions and new regulatory measures.

Olga Chirikova, senior lecturer at the Department of Civil Law Sciences at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, said on February 23 that from March 1, 2026, quick loans without biometric identification will become illegal, and there will be no more "loans in five minutes." It was clarified that the mandatory identification applies to microfinance organizations, whereas for microcredit companies the rule will become effective only from March 1, 2027.

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