Circumvention of macroprudential add-ons to be prevented by Bank of Russia
The regulator plans to introduce macroprudential add-ons for banks’ investments in bonds backed by payments on consumer loans (excluding mortgages). This is stipulated by draft amendments to Bank of Russia Ordinance No.
Recently, banks have been actively offering bonds secured by retail loan payments. In some cases, a significant portion of such securities is purchased by other banks. Since these bonds are exempt from macroprudential add-ons, this in fact implies that banks may exchange loan portfolios, thereby alleviating the burden on capital created by the add-ons for loans. To prevent the spread of such practices, the regulator is updating the procedure for using the add-ons.
Moreover, it is planned to introduce a number of amendments to ease requirements for banks. Specifically, for loans for the purchase of new builds immediately after their completion (rather than a year later), it is proposed to transition from higher macroprudential add-ons to lower ones, which are applied to finished housing. For loans for constructing single-family homes, it is proposed to set the values of add-ons only based on the debt service to income ratio of borrowers.
Moreover, the regulator intends to reduce the minimum share of foreign currency revenues from 40% to 30% for companies to be treated as exporters. This is due to the ongoing transition to settlements in rubles in foreign trade. Lowering this threshold will make it possible to correctly identify exporters if the regulator sets add-ons for banks in relation to foreign currency loans and corporate bonds in the future.
Comments and suggestions on draft amendments are welcome from 9 to 22 April 2026. The updated ordinance will come into force one month after its official publication.