The Central Bank announced a decrease in the pace of corporate lending

In September, the Central Bank recorded a decrease in the pace of corporate lending and the return of cash to banks at a more attractive interest rate. This was stated by the Chairman of the Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina, speaking at the XX International Banking Forum, a Vedomosti correspondent reports.

“Our decisions are not aimed at stopping lending, but at ensuring that credit growth and the associated growth in domestic demand are commensurate with the possibilities for expanding supply. We are already seeing a slight slowdown in corporate lending in September – growth, but at a slightly slower pace. And we are already seeing cash being returned to banks at more attractive interest rates,” says the head of the Central Bank.

Nabiullina noted that banks have a positive impact on economic development. “This means that lending makes a significant positive contribution to economic development. And we see that in terms of corporate lending, the substitution of banks for external financing continues,” she said, noting that corporate lending is growing at about 20% annually.

According to the Central Bank, the portfolio of corporate loans of Russian banks in 2022 increased by 14.3%, to 59.1 trillion rubles. This was the best result in terms of growth since 2012.