The Bank of Russia has announced several decisions regarding macroprudential policy for the fourth quarter of 2025, focusing on mortgage, consumer, and corporate lending standards.
According to the regulator, macroprudential limits (MPLs) for mortgage loans to purchase both new and existing housing in apartment buildings will remain at current levels through the end of 2025. However, from September 1, 2025, macroprudential add-ons for mortgages on housing under construction will be reduced. The Bank reports that these add-ons have contributed to a significant reduction in high-risk mortgage lending over the past two years. Specifically, the share of mortgages issued to borrowers with a debt service-to-income ratio (DSTI) above 80% fell from 42% in Q2 2023 to 6% in Q2 2025. Similarly, mortgages with down payments below 20% decreased from 52% to 5% during the same period.
MPLs were introduced on July 1, 2025, to limit high-risk mortgage issuance and will be maintained at Q3 levels for Q4. As a result of sustained high add-ons since spring 2024, banks accumulated a macroprudential buffer equivalent to about 1.8% of their mortgage portfolio by July this year. Given limited growth in high-risk mortgages and moderate expansion in loan portfolios, the Bank decided not to apply certain add-ons starting September for individuals making down payments between 20–30% and holding DSTI between 50–70%. This change is expected to affect roughly 16% of new mortgages in newly built housing; requirements for existing housing remain unchanged.
For individual housing construction (IHC) mortgages and home equity loans—a segment where high-DSTI borrowers represent a notable portion—the Bank is introducing MPLs effective October 1, setting them below recent market averages. In Q2 this year, IHC mortgages granted to borrowers with DSTI above 80% made up about one-third of such loans; home equity loans showed similar patterns. The regulator plans gradual increases toward standard MPLs used elsewhere in primary housing and unsecured lending segments.
Regarding unsecured consumer loans—including those provided by credit institutions and microfinance organizations—existing MPLs are being maintained into Q4 while macroprudential add-ons will be reduced as of September. Since their introduction in mid-2023, these measures have led to a marked decline in high-DSTI borrowing: unsecured consumer loans issued to individuals with DSTI above 50% dropped from about three-fifths in Q2 2023 to just over one-fifth by Q2 this year. Despite this improvement, overdue loan rates increased slightly—from 8.9% to 11.7%—as banks continued offering products with high effective interest rates (EIR), even among clients without prior credit history.
Banks responded by tightening approval standards since late last year; early signs suggest some stabilization as default rates for recently issued cash loans remained nearly flat between January and April at around 1.6–1.7%. By July 2025, banks had built up an unsecured consumer loan buffer totaling approximately 7.6% of outstanding portfolios (about ₽863 billion). With overall balances declining sector-wide—contracting by almost three percent during H1—the Bank considers further rapid accumulation unnecessary.
In car loan markets—and general-purpose consumer lending secured by vehicles—macroprudential policies continue shaping risk profiles positively compared with last year’s data: car loans extended to those with DSTIs exceeding 80%, or between 50–80%, dropped sharply from last summer’s highs (29–32%) down into single digits or teens by mid-2025. Accumulated buffers reached roughly 2.7%. For vehicle-secured general-purpose consumer loans specifically, both higher-risk lending shares and regulatory add-on requirements are being adjusted downward as part of broader efforts at risk-sensitive oversight.
Macroprudential rules covering corporate lending—including claims on large highly leveraged companies or foreign currency exposures—remain unchanged after review this quarter despite some uptick (6%) observed across foreign currency claims since January; these now make up nearly twelve percent of all corporate portfolios but are attributed primarily to deposit shifts rather than intentional changes in bank behavior regarding currency risk exposure.
Finally, the national countercyclical capital buffer rate remains steady at half a percentage point following recent increases in banking sector capital adequacy ratios—from about twelve-and-a-half percent at start-of-year up toward thirteen-and-a-half percent as of July first—as previously scheduled regulatory changes take effect according to Bank of Russia Instruction No.220-I.
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