Demand for consumer loans has halved

According to Kommersant, citing a study of the Unicom24 marketplace and Equifax, in the event of a slowdown in lending, the bank's income may decrease by 40% by the end of the year.

Whereas a year earlier there were 30 million applications on average per week, now the average number is 15 million.

Recall that on February 28, the Central Bank raised the key rate from 9.5% to 20%. This caused an increase in the price of banking products, including loans. Experts noted a short-term surge in lending on February 24 and 25, when the old rates were still in effect.

At the same time, having received approval for lending, Russians are massively refusing loans now that the rates are already high.

"At the end of March, the market may see a drop in issuance by 60-75% compared to February. The decline will be more significant than in April 2020, when the issuance decreased by 55% compared to March", - said the managing director of rating service NRA Sergey Grishunin.

Earlier it became known that in Russian stores they stopped selling household appliances and electronics on credit. But the desire to make a purchase on credit has also significantly decreased, which will also affect the sales of equipment in the short term, since the opportunity to purchase equipment in installments increased impulsive sales.

In addition, according to Rosstat, prices for smartphones for the week from March 5 to March 11 rose by another 6.5%.