National countercyclical buffer

In addition to macroprudential add-ons established in certain lending segments, the Bank of Russia’s macroprudential policy toolset includes the CCyB. It is used to enhance the banking sector’s resilience to potential shocks and to curb their impact on lending to the economy. The CCyB is accumulated during periods of accelerated credit growth in all lending segments (corporate, mortgage, and unsecured consumer lending) and is released in case of crisis.

The Bank of Russia makes decisions on setting the CCyB rate based on the analysis of a wide range of indicators characterising the credit cycle phases. The level of the banking sector’s systemic risks associated with particular phases of the credit cycle is determined based on the monitoring of credit activity dynamics (including in individual segments), as well as banks’ and borrowers’ financial positions. These indicators are analysed together with the expected changes in macroeconomic conditions and other financial indicators, namely credit gap indicators. A credit gap is a deviation of the actual ratio of credit claims to GDP from the long-term trend of this ratio. If the credit gap is negative, the situation can be characterised as a downward phase of the credit cycle. When the credit gap is positive, this is an upward phase of the credit cycle.

On 8 November 2024, the Bank of Russia Board of Directors decided to establish a positive rate of the CCyB for credit institutions’ capital adequacy ratios for the first time – at 0.25% of risk-weighted assets from 1 February 2025 and at 0.5% of risk-weighted assets from 1 July 2025.

Summary data on credit cycle indicators, series of credit cycle indicator values, and methodological comments on credit cycle indicators are published in Russian only.