Retail lending growth rates slow down in June

In the first half of 2019, the banking sector’s assets continued showing the upward trend, according to the informational and analytical publication ‘Review of the Banking Sector of the Russian Federation in 2019 H1’. In June, assets increased by 0.2%.

In June, the corporate loan portfolio grew by 0.4%; corporate ruble-denominated loans increased by 0.5%, while growth of corporate foreign-currency loans in US dollar terms was as little as 0.1%.

Growth in retail lending has been slowing down for two consecutive months: in June, it was 1.4% (vs 1.9% in June 2018).

In June, after a minor seasonal decrease in May, the growth of private deposits resumed (by 1.3%).

The banking sector’s profit for 2019 H1 totaled 1,005 billion rubles as compared to 634 billion rubles in the same period last year.