The Bank of Russia has announced plans to extend regulatory easing measures for microfinance organizations (MFOs) and consumer credit cooperatives (CCCs) through December 31, 2025. These measures aim to support the lending capacity of these institutions.
As part of the extension, MFOs and CCCs will not be required to treat outstanding microloans from borrowers involved in special military operations as restructured loans when provisioning. This decision is intended to provide relief and maintain financial stability within the sector.
Additionally, the regulator plans to continue allowing MFOs and CCCs not to disclose certain information outlined in decisions made by the Bank of Russia Board of Directors on December 22, 2023, and December 26, 2023. The use of a list of offshore zones approved by the Board’s decision on December 22, 2023, will also remain in effect for assessing individuals entitled to manage MFO shares directly or indirectly.
However, the Bank of Russia does not intend to extend beyond December 31, 2024, the easing introduced in 2022 that allowed MFOs not to treat outstanding microloans from borrowers affected by sanctions as restructured loans when provisioning.
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