Replacement of corporate FX borrowings with ruble-denominated loans continues in May

In May 2019, banking sector assets were up 0.5%. As a result, growth observed from February to May offset the January decline that occurred due to changes in approaches to the accounting of certain operations. This information is provided in the information and analytical material ‘Review of the Banking Sector of the Russian Federation in January-May 2019’.

Retail lending provided the main contribution to credit expansion. The rate of growth in loans to individuals, albeit lower than in March-April 2019, reached 1.6% in May (vs 2.0% in May 2018).

In May, companies continued to replace their FX borrowings (which shrank by 0.4% in dollar terms) with ruble-denominated loans (which were up by 0.2%).

Growth of corporate deposits and account balances (+1.5%) offset the outflow of funds during previous months: in January-May, they increased by 0.1% (vs −0.8% in January-May 2018).

Household deposits remained virtually unchanged in May with the year-to-date growth at 2.8%.