Experts explained why the Central Bank of Russia decided to tighten mortgage lending conditions from the beginning of 2024. Marketing Director of the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI) Alexey Volkov and Director of Russian and CIS Markets at fäm Properties Valery Tumin shared their opinions in a conversation with RT regarding this decision.
According to Alexey Volkov, this bank’s decision to increase premiums for financial institutions issuing mortgage loans with a high debt load (HLL) indicates “the continuation of the strategy of the Central Bank of Russia to slow down the growth rate of mortgage lending in the country.”
“This is a kind of addition to the already introduced changes to the conditions for providing preferential mortgage loans for borrowers, including an increase in the down payment and limiting the loan amount,” he explained.
The expert emphasized that the goal of the Central Bank of Russia is to improve the situation with citizens’ debts and prevent the growth of mortgage loans by including persons with high levels of debt.
Valery Tumin added that the reason for the increase in premiums on risk ratios for mortgage loans was a significant increase in the volume of loans issued to borrowers with a debt burden of more than 80%. The expert also noted that the share of borrowers taking out unsecured consumer loans when applying for a mortgage to pay a down payment has increased.
“In October, such borrowers made up 6.5% of the total. This reduces the quality of the portfolio and also increases the risk of delays and non-payment. Thus, banks will benefit from tightening requirements for mortgage borrowers, and the measures taken by the regulator will help prevent the situation from worsening,” he concluded.
Source: Rosbalt
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