Pawnshops laid new rates

The marginal loan rate (MLC) at a pawnshop in January-March 2023 will be set at 131.6%, the Bank of Russia has determined. This is 3-7 pp higher than in the first quarter of 2022. For pawnshops, unlike other lenders, January is the high season. Long holidays provoke citizens to overspending and often drive them into debt, and the pawnshop remains the easiest way to get funds. Large pawnshops can afford to lend with a large margin of TIC, but they usually have lower valuation of pawned things, but it is difficult for small players to survive with restrictions.

The Central Bank has published the maximum cost of credit (TCC) for pawnshops for the first quarter of 2023. Thus, the maximum allowable values ​​of the total cost of a loan in pawnshops during this period will have to be at the level of 86.3% for loans secured by a vehicle and 131.6% for other property.

In accordance with the regulator’s methodology, in 2022, the rates on loans at pawnshops changed as follows: in the first quarter for cars, the TIC was 83%, for other collaterals – 124.7%, in the fourth quarter it was 98.7% and 158.7%, respectively . Thus, TIC for January-March 2023 exceeds the figures for the beginning of 2022 by 3–7 percentage points, depending on the type of collateral.

The increase in the level of TCS for the first quarter of 2023 is the support that the players, whose number is declining, have been waiting for. So, according to the data.xlsx) The Central Bank, today there are 1998 pawnshops in the register of the Central Bank, while at the end of the first half of the year there were 2096.

At the same time, long New Year holidays, unlike other lenders, are traditionally high season for pawnshops, citizens at this time “actively spend money and are ready to borrow on any terms,” says a Kommersant interlocutor in one of the companies. The increase in TFR for the first quarter, he said, “is a good opportunity to build a reserve for the future, when spending will be treated more prudently.”

Pawnshops themselves, meanwhile, are in favor of the complete abolition of PSK in their segment. “Any restrictions on the industry are bad. And the methodology for calculating the maximum value of the TIC is built in such a way that with a high degree of probability there will be a gradual decrease, which, of course, may be the reason for the decrease in the profitability of pawnshops in the medium and long term,” says Aleksey Lazutin, chairman of the board of the National Association of Pawnshops. A moratorium on limiting the TIC for at least six months, in his opinion, “could return the value to the real market indicators.”

The practice of introducing a moratorium was already applied by the Central Bank from March to June 2022, which compensated for the decline in the price of gold (see “Kommersant” dated June 24). Instead, however, the regulator is considering banning pawnshops from accruing interest on the first day of a loan, market participants complain.

“In general, the dissatisfaction of pawnshops is understandable, the industry was significantly hit by general market problems, especially partial mobilization, which massively affected their client base,” notes Dmitry Alexandrov, director of Ivolga Capital Investment Company. pawnshops account for it.— “b”) in national currency fell”.

However, the presence of PSK will not lead to losses in the industry, the expert is sure. “Of course, there will be no super profits,” adds Mr. Aleksandrov, the segment will end the current year with a portfolio decline of 10% and a decrease in profit by 20–30%, which “is due to general market reasons.” “During the crisis, the pawnshop market is in demand from individuals,” adds Dmitry Afrikanov, CEO of the Unicom ecosystem. “As a rule, banks and MFIs tighten requirements for customers, and the need for funds grows.”

Polina Trifonova