Banks and other lenders in Russia will soon be required to use only official information about current personal income when deciding whether to issue loans or microloans. The Bank of Russia, working with various ministries and agencies, has adopted a roadmap outlining the key steps for this transition.
This change follows instructions from the President of the Russian Federation, who last year directed policy-makers to create such an obligation for lenders. According to the new plan, lenders will be given access to an information system that provides up-to-date official data on borrowers’ income within one minute. The roadmap states that these data sets will become available to lenders by March 2026.
With the consent of individuals, lenders will obtain this information from the Federal Tax Service of Russia and the Social Fund of Russia using the Digital Profile system. This tool allows financial institutions to access customer data from government systems and provide services without requiring hard-copy documents.
“Subject to individuals’ consent, lenders will obtain these data from the information systems of the Federal Tax Service of Russia and the Social Fund of Russia via the Digital Profile. This tool enables financial institutions to use customer data from government information systems and provide services without hard-copy documents. As concluded by market participants, stakeholders, and the Bank of Russia, this is the most effective way to obtain up-to-date information about personal income,” according to a statement from stakeholders and market participants.
Lenders may also use other sources for verifying official household incomes. The shift toward relying solely on official income information aims to help banks more accurately assess borrowers’ financial status and allow the Bank of Russia to better manage risks tied to rising household debt levels.
“The transition to using exclusively information about official income of people will allow banks and other lenders to more accurately assess borrowers’ income and will help the Bank of Russia to more effectively limit risks associated with the growth of households’ debt burden,” as noted in statements regarding the new procedure.
