Corporate lending cools noticeably in November
Lending slowed down in general because of high interest rates and banks’ cautiousness in managing reduced capital and liquidity.
Growth in the corporate loan portfolio fell to 0.8% from 2.3% in October. Mortgage lending was down as well (to 0.4% from 0.7%), with new loans dropping in both subsidised and market-based mortgage segments. Growth in unsecured consumer lending was close to zero (+0.1%) after a reduction in October (-0.3%).
Persistently climbing interest rates boosted the inflow of both household funds (+1.2% vs +1.3% in October) and corporate funds (+1.6% vs +1.5% in October) into banks.
The banking sector’s profit rose to ₽518 billion largely due to the foreign currency revaluation and the one-off recovery of provisions on corporate loans. As a result of the foreign currency revaluation of subordinated loans recognised in capital, the overall financial performance of the sector was slightly lower (₽479 billion).
More details are available in the information and analytical material Russian Banking Sector Development in November 2024.