Macroprudential limits tightened for high-risk consumer loans
The Bank of Russia has tightened macroprudential limits on high-risk consumer loans, car loans, and equity-backed borrowing for the fourth quarter of 2026. The measures target long-term debt and borrowers with high debt service-to-income ratios to curb risk accumulation.
Closing loopholes in retail debt
The Bank of Russia tightened fourth-quarter macroprudential limits for unsecured consumer loans without a credit limit, auto equity, home equity, and MFO microloans.
For borrowers with a debt service-to-income (DSTI) ratio above 50 percent, the cap for unsecured loans drops from 18 to 15 percent, with the sublimit for DSTI above 80 percent falling from 3 to 1 percent.
Limits on maturities of five years or longer were also reduced from 5 to 1 percent.
Additionally, car loan limits for DSTI over 50 percent were lowered from 25 to 20 percent.
The regulator noted that consumer loan portfolios grew 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026, driven by cash loans, while non-performing loans held steady at 13.2 percent.
Mortgages hold firm as capital buffers rise
In contrast, mortgage limits and macroprudential add-ons were left unchanged following improvements in lending standards.
High-risk mortgage disbursements to borrowers with DSTI over 80 percent fell to 4 percent in the second quarter of 2026.
The central bank also maintained the national countercyclical buffer at 0.5 percentage points, citing no signs of credit overheating.
The banking sector's overall capital adequacy ratio reached 14.1 percent as of 1 July 2026, while corporate foreign currency add-ons remained unadjusted.
Surgical precision, selective exposure
Targeted tightening in consumer credit demonstrates a proactive effort to preempt retail debt stress before defaults rise.
Aligning equity loan limits with unsecured credit successfully closes persistent regulatory arbitrage channels.
Yet leaving mortgage rules untouched assumes current lending discipline will hold in a cooling economy.