The gap between the requests of citizens and the limits of banks has narrowed in the credit card market

In the credit card market, there is a narrowing gap between the requests of citizens and the limits of banks. According to market participants and experts, the trend will continue “in the absence of new political upheavals.” Credit cards are a profitable and well-managed segment for banks, moreover, they are less dependent on changes in the Central Bank rate from retail loans.

According to the financial marketplace Banki.ru, in the first half of 2023, the average credit card limit requested by borrowers amounted to about 100 thousand rubles. At the same time, the average approved market limit is about 90,000 rubles, says Anton Sergunov, director of bank card development at Banki.ru.

Thus, the gap between the expectations of customers and banks has narrowed. “But real limits differ greatly by segments,” Mr. Sergunov explains. “Plus, many banks are launching and scaling up so-called intro limits — small limits within 50,000 rubles. with a rapid increase in its size for those clients who show good payment discipline.

Banks confirm that customer expectations are “closer to reality”. This is partly due to increased limits. “In the first half of the year, PSB saw a steady increase in the number of issued credit cards and an increase in the average approved credit limit for them,” says Rustem Aminov, head of the bank’s card products department. academic year, when consumer activity increases.

But in parallel, requests from Russians are declining, and faster than the actual amount of approval. For example, the average requested amount on RNKB credit cards in the first half of the year decreased by 30% yoy, while the average approved amount increased by 4%.

The decrease in requests is also confirmed in Rosbank: “For most applications, the amount of the requested limit practically does not differ from the amount actually issued, which may be due to the fact that most clients do not come from the street, but having a pre-approved offer in their hands, and, accordingly, their financial expectations are near this amount. In 2023, on average, the amount actually issued was less than the requested amount by only 3%, follows from the bank’s statistics.

Experts believe that the trend of supply and demand convergence in the credit card market will continue “in the absence of new political upheavals.” “Banks are interested in the growth of the segment, the approval level has grown by about 25–30%,” explains Anton Sergunov. “Credit cards are slightly less subject to strong fluctuations in lending conditions depending on the key rate, again thanks to other mechanisms for managing the product’s profitability — the presence of commissions and managed credit limit.

“The effective rate on credit cards is significantly higher than the nominal one, so the market segment has a rather low dependence on the key rate,” the Scoring Bureau adds. the market is more substantial.” The BCI notes that in recent months the average amount of the established limit on newly issued cards began to grow and reached almost 105 thousand rubles.

At the same time, preliminary data from the second half of August indicate some cooling of the credit card market, the Scoring Bureau specifies. The executive director of the financial marketplace Vyberu.ru, Yaroslav Bajurak, however, believes that “the slight summer panic of the Russians will subside and demand will return to the indicators of the spring period.” In his opinion, “with any fluctuation of the ruble, there will be bursts of client activity – the Russians are still trying to save money through preferential terms and cashback.”

Polina Trifonova