Record-high amount of mortgages issued in September
Mortgage lending expanded by 4.2% in September, compared to 3.7% in August. Besides, the amount of market-based mortgages issued over the month (mostly to purchase existing housing) was down, whereas that of subsidised mortgages for new housing surged. The demand was additionally driven by households’ desire to raise mortgages before the increase in the minimum down payment under all government subsidised mortgage programmes.
Contrastingly, consumer lending growth slowed down considerably from 2.4% in August to 1.5% in September, which was associated with higher interest rates and tightened macroprudential requirements.
Companies’ demand for loans stayed elevated in September. The corporate loan portfolio expanded by 2.0%, compared to 1.7% in August.
The growth rate of households’ funds in bank accounts remained nearly the same month-on-month (1.0% in September vs 0.8% in August). Because of higher interest rates, people continued to transfer their funds from current accounts to time deposits, predominantly short-term ones. Corporate funds increased moderately, specifically by 0.7%.
Banks’ profit in September totalled ₽296 billion, which is 16% less month-on-month. The performance over September was affected by a reduction in gains from foreign currency revaluation and higher funding costs after the key rate increase.
More details are available in the information and analytical material Russian Banking Sector Development in September 2023.