Bankrupt hole: Russians are three times more likely to be denied debt relief
Russians are increasingly left with debts even after bankruptcy proceedings. In the first quarter, the courts refused to write off the obligations of more than 2.2 thousand citizens. once — 2.6 times more often than a year ago, follows from the data of the Federal Resource (Izvestia has it). At the same time, the number of confessions of insolvency itself is growing. Experts explain the trend by the tightening of the position of the courts and the influx of borrowers who expected to get rid of loans too easily. Why the procedure has ceased to be a salvation is in the Izvestia article.
Why did the courts stop forgiving debts
In the first quarter of 2026, the courts refused to write off debts to Russians in 2.2 thousand cases - this is a record in the entire history of observations and 2.6 times more often than a year earlier, the Federal Resource told Izvestia. At the same time, we are not talking about the refusal of bankruptcy itself: the procedure was completed, but the person was not released from obligations. At the same time, the number of bankruptcies themselves is increasing. The number of judicial procedures increased by 14%, and out—of-court - by 5%.
Usually people go into bankruptcy to get rid of back-breaking payments. First, the court tries to help the debtor restore his solvency by changing the repayment schedule and terms. Fines and penalties are no longer charged for this period, and interest is calculated only on the principal amount of the loan. If a person does not cope after that, his property is sold for settlements with banks, and the remaining debt can be canceled.
But obligations are not written off to everyone. The court may refuse if it sees signs of dishonesty: for example, a person hid assets, created fictitious receipts, or took out loans, knowing in advance that he would not be able to repay them. This practice is called "credit tourism". As a result, the procedure formally passes, but the main result — exemption from payments — does not occur. At the same time, the citizen loses time, money and property that has already been sold.
Since 2025, banks have become more likely to encounter customers with extremely high debt loads, said Anton Egorov, executive director of Cyberbird Fintech Group. According to him, many began to perceive bankruptcy as an easy way to solve financial problems. This increased the costs of creditors and the burden on the courts, including due to fraud cases.
The courts have become much more attentive to studying the behavior of borrowers, confirmed economist Andrei Barkhota. Most often, negative decisions are related to attempts to hide property or cases where a person initially did not intend to return money to banks. Ekaterina Medyakova, an expert at the Presidential Academy, added: now the outcome of the procedure largely depends on how conscientiously the debtor behaved. If a person tried to solve the problem honestly, the debt is usually cancelled. If not, it remains valid.
Previously, obligations were lifted in almost 99% of cases, said Evgeny Akimov, Senior Managing Director of Sberbank. However, according to him, many "loan sharks" — companies promising to get rid of payments quickly — often pushed clients to questionable schemes. Now the approach of the courts has become more rigid.
After the refusal, the debt does not disappear anywhere, Ekaterina Medyakova emphasized. Banks and other creditors can collect funds through salary deductions, debiting money from accounts, or selling property. It is no longer possible to achieve the cancellation of the same obligations again.
The National Association of Professional Collection Agencies also attributed the increase in the number of refusals to aggressive advertising of "loan sharks" on the Internet and social networks. They noted that the problem is not so much a sharp deterioration in the quality of borrowers, but rather that many citizens with low financial literacy are beginning to perceive bankruptcy as an easy and safe way to solve all problems with payments.
Such firms promise to "reset" debts without consequences, but they keep silent about serious restrictions after bankruptcy, added economist Alexey Krichevsky. For example, it may be more difficult for a person to get a new loan, open a business, or get a job in some positions in the financial sector.
What will happen next in the field of bankruptcy
So far, the increase in refusals to write off debts does not create serious problems for the banking system, T-Bank assured. They noted that there is currently no noticeable increase in penalties for obligations that could have been cancelled through bankruptcy. The banks assess the courts' tougher approach positively. It can change how lenders work with problem clients, as well as the market of so-called "black borrowers."
The number of personal bankruptcies will continue to grow against the background of high inflation and the deterioration of the financial situation of some Russians, said financial adviser Alexei Rodin. An additional role is played by the fact that people have become more aware of the procedure itself and more often consider it as a way to solve problems with loans.
Strict bankruptcy control will remain in place for at least the next two years. Otherwise, too massive write-off of obligations can lead to an increase in non-payments in the economy when people and companies stop coping with their debts, warned economist Andrei Barkhota.
After two or three years, the situation may stabilize, and the number of refusals may stop growing or even begin to decrease. But this will happen not because of the softening of the practice, but because people who expect to abuse the system will be less likely to apply to the procedure, says Ekaterina Medyakova from the Presidential Academy.
The number of personal bankruptcies is likely to continue to increase due to the high debt burden of the population, accumulated loans and a long period of high interest rates, said Dmitry Mikhailov, an expert on consumer lending and chief operating officer of Kosmovizakom. At the same time, the number of refusals will also grow, but not so fast. However, it is too early to talk about mass tightening of the screws: even now, the failure rate remains small compared to the total number of procedures, he stressed.
Starting in 2027, new restrictions will be introduced for the riskiest borrowers even at the stage of applying for loans. This can reduce the flow of potential bankrupts in one or two years, says Anton Egorov from Cyberbird Fintech Group. According to him, in the future, the number of refusals will increase mainly in controversial cases where there are signs of abuse.
Currently, the bankruptcy system in Russia is gradually changing: the courts are increasingly assessing the debtor's behavior, experts agree. Those who perceive the procedure as an easy way to avoid payments are more often refused. At the same time, Russians who really find themselves in a difficult financial situation can still count on help. The alternative is restructuring, credit holidays, and negotiations with the bank to reduce payments.
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