Corporate portfolio continues growing rapidly in May
Bank lending to companies (including bonds) increased by 1.5% (vs +1.9% in April), largely on account of loans, half of which were issued to state-owned companies and developers, with the remaining portion evenly distributed across sectors. In year-on-year terms, this indicator went up by ₽12.8 trillion, or 13.6% (vs + ₽12.1 trillion, or +12.8%, in April).
According to preliminary data, households’ outstanding mortgages returned to modest growth (+0.3% vs +0.4% in April). Their year-on-year increase came in at ₽2.3 trillion, or 10.4%, staying close to last month’s level.
The expansion of the consumer loan portfolio accelerated significantly in May (to +1.4% vs +0.1% in April), which might be partially driven by households’ seasonal holiday costs. Nevertheless, the portfolio contracted year-on-year (−₽0.1 trillion, or −0.9%, vs −₽0.3 trillion, or −2.3%, in April) due to the negative dynamics of previous months.
Households’ funds with banks went down by 0.8% (+1.7% in April), which might be attributed to the advance payment of May social benefits in April and festive spending. Contrastingly, corporate funds increased significantly by 2.9% following their weak dynamics in April (+0.3%) associated with the payment of quarterly taxes. The rise in May was primarily driven by exporters.
The banking sector’s profit amounted to ₽362 billion, which was overall on a par with the April figure. That said, in May, the sector’s total financial result was slightly below the profit (₽352 billion) due to the negative revaluation of debt securities recognised directly in equity.
More details are available in the information and analytical material Russian Banking Sector Development in May 2026.