Borrowers have become more active in lending – Newspaper Kommersant No. 168 (7369) dated 09/13/2022

In August, the Russians increased their demand for borrowed funds: they were more actively issued in banks, for example, credit cards, the volume of which for the first time in a year exceeded 2 million. However, the risk policy remains the same, so credit card limits do not show impressive dynamics, and only every third application for a card is approved.

In August, for the first time this year, Russians received more than 2 million credit cards, according to data from the United Credit Bureau (UCB). This is 14% more than in July and 42% more than in August 2021. In addition, the figure for August (2.04 million units) is the second highest result since 2019. The total limit on new credit cards in August amounted to 153.6 billion rubles, an increase of 26.3% compared to the previous month and by 44.2% compared to August 2021.

The market turned to growth after a short stagnation – for two months in a row, the issue was 1.79 million pieces. “There is an increase in demand from borrowers: the number of applications for this product has grown by 35% over the year,” explains Mr. about. OKB General Director Nikolai Myasnikov. According to him, at the same time, banks keep their risk policy at the same level, approving only every third application.

In total, in January-August, banks issued 12.5 million credit cards with a total limit of 0.9 trillion rubles, which is 30% more than a year earlier. For comparison, according to the analytical company Frank RG, in August, for the first time in 2022, banks issued 1.1 trillion rubles. retail loans (excluding credit cards), which is 10% lower than in August 2021.

In July-August, there was a surge in the popularity of credit cards in Russia, confirms Irina Dimitrova, director of retail products and sales at the Sravni financial marketplace: “On average, 1.4–1.6 million cards were issued per month. Previously, the usual volume was 1-1.2 million credit cards per month.

The growth has several reasons, the expert believes: firstly, users are actively switching from the usual Visa and Mastercard cards to Mir cards, and secondly, the market has seen high activity of banks in cross-selling when credit cards are issued to their own customers , for example, those who already have a bank debit card. The situation is similar in the segment of payroll projects, when when changing the payroll bank, the user is given a complementary credit card, Ms. Dimitrova adds. She believes that the decline in the well-being of the population has also become an important factor, which provokes the use of credit funds for making routine payments and purchases.

In the future, high demand for credit cards may persist for six months or a year, until the market is saturated, Irina Dimitrova believes.

Bankers themselves are also showing interest in the segment: credit cards can be convenient for them with a good turnover on repayments, which is higher than in other areas of consumer lending, says Yury Belikov, Validation Director of the Expert RA rating agency. “Borrowers are trying to pay off debt faster because of higher rates, as well as to meet the grace period (interest-free subject to certain conditions.— “b”), and banks, in turn, receive a return of funds faster and can place them in new assets,” the expert explains. “This is especially beneficial for bankers during a period of rising market rates.”

According to Mr. Belikov, now there is a cycle of rate cuts, but in the long run, this can be a positive factor that increases the mobility of the loan portfolio from the point of view of banks. It was credit cards with a grace period that supported issuance in the spring, when immediately after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the imposition of sanctions and internal restrictions, the financial system was in a state of shock. In March-April, the issuance of consumer loans slowed down significantly, explains Mr. Belikov, and for credit cards, the fall was less, since borrowers in a crisis counted on an interest-free period and used previously opened limits.

Olga Sherunkova, Polina Trifonova