Support The Moscow Times!

Personal Debt in Russia Up 30% in 2015

The amount of personal debt in Russia rose by about 30 percent, last year according to deputy director of the National Bureau of Credit Histories Vladimir Shikin, the rusnovosti.ru news website reported Monday.

"In 2015 we saw a rise in personal debt, both in rubles and as a percentage of the volume of existing loans," Shikin said, rusnovosti.ru reported.

Shikin added that the general amount of debt stands at more than 1 trillion rubles ($12.9 billion).

He said problems often arise with payment of unsecured loans and in the credit card and consumer loans sectors, rusnovosti.ru reported. Such loans make up about 18 percent of all personal debt.

However, mortgage repayments are made in a more punctual manner, with outstanding repayments standing at just 3-4 percent of all personal debt.

A spokesman for the governing body of National Bureau of Credit Histories also noted that in 2015 banks began to evaluate potential borrowers more carefully and substantially slashed rates on unsecured loan repayments.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more