Every tenth Russian was unable to pay the loan

On malicious non-payers found justice in the person of bailiffs

The regiment of malicious defaulters on loans has noticeably arrived. Now this is already a whole legion: in January-March, the number of individuals with overdue debts amounted to 14.4 million. This is a quarter, or 2.9 million more than in the first quarter of last year. The main thing in what is happening is that the money began to be returned more often forcibly, with the help of bailiffs. Of good will, people are not going to pay off loans, as if they have no such obligations. And the trend is getting stronger.

A third (32%) of the cases under consideration by the Federal Bailiff Service are fully or partially collected by bailiffs. And another third of the collection is directed to wages and other incomes of the debtor, they said in the FSSP. In addition, the average amount claimed for collection increased from 350,000 to 400,000 rubles. The figures announced by the bailiffs are truly staggering: in fact, every tenth Russian is no longer able to pay his debts.

The main reason why the state has to collect debts forcibly is the low solvency of citizens, says Artem Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets. Real incomes of the population have been falling for the last ten years, against the backdrop of rising inflation and the tax burden. Today, many are forced to take out microcredits in order to simply pay for housing and communal services, and then to get into new debts to plug up the old ones. It turns out a kind of vicious circle.

“However, this does not change the obvious fact: the financial obligations assumed must be fulfilled,” argues Deev. – Accordingly, the bailiffs perform an unpleasant, but necessary job. The volume of overdue debt on loans to individuals exceeds a trillion rubles, this amount is needed by the economy, it would help to withstand sanctions pressure and ensure stability in the domestic market. It should also be taken into account that in Russia there is an extremely low payment discipline – this is due to the prevailing mentality of the population.

According to the president of the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies Elman Mehdiyev, there are several reasons for the growth of debtors in enforcement proceedings at the FSSP. The main one lies in increasing the share of the judicial recovery itself, which today creditors (banks, MFIs and collection agencies) rely on as the only effective method. “It is not the simplest economic situation that contributes to the statistics,” the expert notes. – However, this is a secondary reason, since we do not observe massive defaults on loans – both last year and this year. Each debt has its own term: it depends both on the amount and on the financial capabilities of the debtor himself. As a rule, the collection is imposed on the wages and accounts of the debtor. Bailiffs are most interested in real money that they can get here and now. If neither invoices nor wages are found from the debtor, he may be banned from leaving the country or driving a car, and also seize his property.”

Meanwhile, citizens’ appetites for loans are clearly growing – contrary to economic sense. The people are not ready to give up their consumer habits and at the same time have not learned to measure their capabilities and needs, argues Mikhail Belyaev, candidate of economic sciences. “At the same time, the people have developed an idea of ​​banks as greedy and cunning usurers: they say, they are rowing trillions of rubles with shovels, but we, the poor, the unfortunate ones, do not have enough for vodka. Let them share the unfairly acquired good, and if I don’t return the “small penny” to them, it’s okay: they won’t lose money from the banks, ”the expert says. Thus, a reinforced concrete thesis was formed: to take a loan and not repay it is almost the legal right of every citizen. At the same time, they find a lot of utilitarian excuses: there is not enough money for food, medicines and housing and communal services, children have to be taken to school by car, major repairs are overdue, and so on.

“I consider coercive methods on the part of the FSSP to be absolutely justified,” Belyaev sums up. “People need to understand that they won’t be able to escape responsibility, debts will certainly be collected, and in the toughest way. After all, these are not their funds, but the banks, which they receive less for their current operating activities. The banking community is not so omnipotent: the problems of one credit institution are transmitted through intrasystem channels to others. As a result, the entire sector is under the threat of destabilization.”