The Bank of Russia has concluded discussions on proposals for the development of the microfinance market for 2025-2027. Participants largely supported efforts to stimulate the market for affordable loans to households and businesses, while also emphasizing the need for microfinance organizations (MFOs) to eliminate practices leading to household over-indebtedness.
Public consultations were held with representatives from MFOs, self-regulatory organizations, the scientific and academic community, and State Duma deputies. The Bank of Russia reviewed over 100 proposals and questions from these stakeholders.
Following these consultations, the Bank of Russia plans to focus on implementing measures aimed at protecting individuals. These include introducing a 'one microloan per individual until repayment' principle and establishing a cooling-off period requiring individuals to wait three days before obtaining a new microloan after repaying a previous one. Additionally, there are plans to reduce the maximum allowable overpayment on consumer microloans from 130% to 100% of the debt amount.
Over the next three years, legislation and regulations will undergo comprehensive review. In developing these regulations, feedback received during public consultations will be considered by the Bank of Russia.