The mortgage will fit into the framework – Kommersant FM

The Central Bank may gain the right to limit banks in issuing mortgages. A bill giving the regulator such powers has been submitted to the State Duma for consideration. The initiative group, led by the Chairman of the Committee on Financial Markets, Anatoly Aksakov, believes that this measure will prevent Russians from becoming overly indebted, and will also reduce risks for the banks and microfinance organizations themselves.

In the explanatory note it saysthat now market prices for primary housing are 42% higher than prices for secondary housing. In a situation where a borrower sells his mortgaged apartment, which has already moved into the secondary segment, he does not have enough to cover the loan, explained Artem Tuzov, executive director of the investment company IVA Partners: “It is impossible to stop the desire to buy real estate with a mortgage. No matter how much they restrict bankers, developers, or insufficient tools, individuals still run and take out a mortgage. The need to solve this problem is clearly ripe.

It happens that the difference between the cost of an apartment on the primary and secondary markets reaches 47%. It turns out that when buying an apartment with a mortgage and being faced with the need to sell it, a person loses up to half of its value. At the same time, the down payment on a mortgage is often limited to 10-20%, even 30%, this is a large amount, and it is still not enough for this operation to end with a profit. Therefore, we really need to do something, take certain measures in connection with this.

Essentially, the legislator shifts responsibility for this problem to the Central Bank, which is probably not entirely correct, because it’s time to restrict mortgage borrowers.”

There is already experience of forced restrictions on the issuance of loans. At the beginning of the year, the Bank of Russia introduced a limit in three microfinance organizations at once. The reason was the excess of the permissible share of loans to clients with a debt burden above 80%. But, despite a number of restrictive measures taken by the regulator, bankers still take risks in order to earn more, notes Natalya Milchakova, leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global:

“Banks themselves limit the issuance of loans, including secured loans, to people with a bad credit history. Another thing is that banks still make money on interest income, that is, they cannot completely refuse to issue mortgage loans. In addition, not everyone reports to the Central Bank. Many large banks are public companies, that is, they still report to shareholders, they must show profits and pay dividends.

And now the question arises: how to find a reasonable balance between the desire of a credit institution to have good financial results, opportunities for growth, and the fact that it is necessary to somehow cool the overheated credit market. This is why we need a regulator and restrictive measures. The hyperactivity of banks in offering their loans must be limited. And it would also be nice to limit the advertising of loans, in particular, calls and SMS from the bank with an offer to take out a loan.”

The total mortgage portfolio of credit institutions is growing due to preferential programs. The authorities are gradually phasing them out and introducing additional restrictions for borrowers and banks. From July 1, the government will stop supporting such loans. Preferential programs will remain only in regions with low demand for real estate, and family mortgages will remain throughout the country, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said earlier.

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Svetlana Belova