During the January-to-April window, the share of Russians turning to microloans to cover existing debt—as opposed to new borrowing for everyday needs—stood at 5.8 percent. For the same months in 2022 and 2021, the figures were notably higher at 7.7 percent and 10.8 percent respectively. These numbers come from a study of the Moneyman alternative lending platform, which was provided to the editors of socialbites.ca.
“After the economic shock in 2022, people have become more deliberate when considering borrowed funds. They now tend to borrow strictly for needs rather than for discretionary purchases or margin loans,” explained Andrey Greznev, Marketing Director at Moneyman. He added that this year’s dip in the proportion of borrowers aiming to use microcredits to settle prior debts occurs against a backdrop of a rebound in overall loan volumes that had shrunk in 2022. Data from the National Bureau of Credit Histories (NBKI) show that in the first four months of 2023, total lending activity reached 1.22 trillion rubles. While this is lower than the 1.37 trillion rubles seen in the same period of 2021, it remains substantially higher than the 0.77 trillion rubles recorded in January–April 2022.
Greznev noted that microcredit supply also tightened this year as microfinance institutions (MFIs) stepped up borrower scrutiny in response to tighter regulatory requirements from the Central Bank. As of January 1, 2023, the regulator implemented macroprudential limits on MFIs, introducing quantitative restrictions on lending. Specifically, MFIs were instructed that the share of loans with a payment-to-income (PTI) ratio above 80 percent—where loan repayments would consume more than 80 percent of a borrower’s income—should not exceed 35 percent for each loan category, including consumer loans and line-of-credit products.
The study covered more than 300,000 loans issued across Russia, providing a broad view of borrowing patterns and lender practices in the evolving credit landscape.