Loan payments postponed for six months: credit holidays will become indefinite

Experts are ambiguous about the new measure of support for bank borrowers

The government passed a law on indefinite credit holidays. We are talking about car loans and consumer loans. Previously, only mobilized and mortgage borrowers had such an opportunity. The very same norm was first introduced in the country as a temporary measure of assistance during a pandemic. But from January 1, 2024, the right to receive holidays will become permanent. From now on, Russians will be able to defer loan payments for up to six months. Experts note that not everyone will be able to take advantage of such a pause in practice.

The State Duma adopted a law on the indefinite right to credit holidays. Previously, a pause in the payment of debts was given only to selected categories of borrowers and only in special periods of time – for example, during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Bank of Russia, more than 75% of those who used this tool in 2021 resolved their financial problems during the grace period and returned to their previous payment schedule. In the meantime, there is a permanent right to deferment only for mortgages. For the rest of the loans, it is temporary, the last time it was extended until the end of 2023.

Recall that a credit holiday is a deferred payment that allows the client to solve the difficulties that have arisen and find money to repay the loan. During this grace period, the monthly payment decreases, but the debtor does not pay a penalty.

The norm adopted the day before will work as follows. It will be possible to apply for a deferment if a person has fallen into a difficult life situation (illness, dismissal) and his average monthly income has fallen by more than 30%. Credit holidays are also provided to persons called up for military service and members of their families. All these reasons must be documented, after which it is allowed not to pay on a consumer loan for up to 6 months. During this time, the bank will not be able to charge a penalty and additional interest. According to the document, information about vacations will be reflected in the credit history, but, as the authors of the innovation promise, they will not spoil it. The law gives the borrower the right to apply for deferred payments for auto loans in the amount of 1.6 million rubles, 150 thousand for credit cards, and 450 thousand for other loans.

Meanwhile, according to a number of experts, not all borrowers will be lucky enough to ease their debt burden. Previously, when credit holidays were just introduced, banks had the right to reject a request for a deferment if the borrower did not meet all the requirements. Then the citizens massively made statements with complaints about the denial of credit holidays. Very rarely, after considering the appeal, it turned out that the person really did not fit the requirements of the law, Pavel Medvedev, financial ombudsman of the Association of Russian Banks, told MK.

“During the pandemic, people in need took out credit holidays and exhaled: there was an opportunity to delay payments and not give creditors the last penny. There were conscientious payers for whom everything ended well, and in the end they won. But there were also those who did not use the grace period correctly. As a result: the credit holidays are over, and the money has not returned to the banks, ”he noted.

And yet, financial institutions have good reasons to deny everyone who wants a deferral. Thus, at the end of 2022, the volume of overdue bank loans to individuals, excluding mortgages, increased by 16% (plus 139.5 billion), exceeding a trillion rubles. In June of this year, the debt load of Russians updated a record. The total amount of debts, according to the Central Bank, has overcome the mark of 30 trillion rubles.

According to the Chairman of the Board of the International Confederation of Consumer Societies (ConfOP) Dmitry Yanin, the credit holiday mechanism itself was ineffective before, since most borrowers who needed help during the pandemic were unable to use them. Among the reasons for the refusal was, for example, that only the reduction in the income of the borrower, and not the household as a whole, was taken into account, which is wrong, he notes.

“This norm will remain even with the indefinite operation of the credit holiday mechanism, which means that the number of refusals will not decrease,” Yanin believes. “I think that, as before, a larger number of debtors will have to use bank restructuring programs, which is less profitable for them.”

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29076 dated July 24, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Debtors will be sent on vacation