Nabiullina warned of a slowdown in corporate lending in Russia

Chairman of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina reported that the rate of corporate lending in the country is decreasing. According to her, the regulator sees cash being returned to banks at a more attractive interest rate.

“We are already seeing a slight slowdown in corporate lending in September, this is growth, but at a slightly slower pace, and we are already seeing the return of cash to banks at more attractive interest rates,” Ms. Nabiullina said at the XX International Banking Forum (quote from TASS).

In her opinion, banks have a positive impact on economic development. “This means that lending makes a significant positive contribution to economic development. And we see that from the point of view of corporate lending, the substitution of external financing by banks continues,” she added, noting that the annual growth of corporate lending in the Russian Federation is about 20%.

In August, Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Vladimir Chistyukhin said that the Central Bank was closely monitoring the overheated lending market and hoped that its growth rate would correspond to the basic forecasts of the Ministry of Economy. According to data Bank of Russia for July 2023, corporate lending in Russia accelerated to 2.1% from 1.3% a month earlier, consumer lending increased by 2% against 1.6% in June.

Read more about the situation in the lending market in the material “Loans have slipped on interest rates”.

Alexander Kislov