Growth in the volume of consumer loans in Russia reached 15.9% (data for June compared to June last year). At the same time, the growth of wages in annual terms slowed down to 7.2% in comparison with May, and deposits of individuals in banks - to 7.1%. This was reported by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. For the entire first half of 2018. portfolio of loans to the population grew by 1.1 trillion rubles - to 13.3 trillion rubles, according to Vedomosti.

Experts explain that the population's demand for consumer loans is growing, since inflation is kept at a relatively low level, the Central Bank's key rate has stabilized at the lower borders, the growth of wages has accelerated. At the same time, companies take fewer loans, but prefer to keep money on deposit accounts (growth of 8.3% in June). The government does not like this situation. Banks focused on lending to the population - with current regulation, it is more profitable for them than to lend to business, the head of the MAYOR Maxim Oreshkin said recently. According to him, the rapid growth of consumer lending threatens inflation, hinders the reduction of the key rate and makes it difficult for enterprises to lend. Oreshkin invited the Bank of Russia to make loans to companies more profitable for banks than consumer. Representatives of banks, however, so far everything suits. They do not see the danger in the growth of consumer lending: it is explained by the fact that in dysfunctional years the population sharply reduced the number of borrowed loans. Retail lending is indeed recovering faster than the corporate one, in part because in 2015-2016. the population has actively reduced its arrears to banks, now that salaries are rising and rates have reached the bottom, it has started to increase again, said the chief economist of Alfa-Bank Natalia Orlova. According to experts, the current level of credit is the maximum. More Russians are unlikely to be able to take. Already taken loans are close to 10% of GDP - Eastern European highs. Growth in lending to individuals helps the economy to grow, as it stimulates consumption. But there is a danger of non-return. Millions of borrowers may be in poverty, and banks will not see their money. This will provoke huge economic problems. To insure against them, the Bank of Russia has already begun to reduce the profitability of household loans for banks. Since May 1, the risk factors for unsecured consumer loans have risen, and from September 1 the regulator will raise them again - for loans the full value of which exceeds 10% per annum.

It is assumed that people will once again think whether they should take a loan with an increased rate. However, if the Russians decided to take the debt, there is hardly anything they can stop. High-risk borrowers (to whom banks refuse to issue loans) are more actively credited to microfinance institutions. According to the National Bureau of Credit Histories, such firms in April-June issued loans "to pay" for 26.3 billion rubles - 23.8% more than a year earlier. In relations with such organizations, the risks of non-return increase even more.