The volume of consumer loans extended in February 2023 decreased by 12.3% compared to the previous year. At the same time, the average loan size is shrinking while the default amount is increasing. In this regard, with reference to the data of the “Scoring Bureau” Wrote Kommersant newspaper.
According to the bureau, in February banks issued 2.35 million loans worth 431.8 billion rubles. In terms of the number of applications approved, this is less than the traditionally weak January. The average check was 183 thousand rubles a year ago – 240 thousand rubles.
The volume of delays of 90 days and more increased to 712 billion rubles. (plus 6.6% since the beginning of the year) from a total portfolio of 7.94 trillion rubles. The average amount of overdue consumer loans increased by 10% and reached the maximum since 2021 of 145.6 thousand rubles. (132.5 thousand rubles in February 2022).
The article says banks are starting to lend less because of concerns about weaker returns on large loans – evidenced by this trend. NRA bank ratings analyst Natalia Bogomolova points out that this fits with the traditional policy of banks. In crisis scenarios, on the other hand, by tightening the risk policy, they try to protect the loan volume based on the number of customers, not the loan size.