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Total household debt in Russia hits all-time high reaching 10.6%

The dynamics of household debt is largely due to the growth of unsecured consumer lending, according to the Central Bank

© Sergei Konkov/TASS

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Total household debt in Russia has hit an all-time high and reached 10.6% as of October 1, 2019, according to the presentation of head of the Central Bank’s Financial Stability Department Elizaveta Danilova. In the previous month, total household debt reached the record high of 2014 of 10.4%.

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The dynamics of household debt (the ratio of monthly debt payments to monthly income of borrowers) is largely due to the growth of unsecured consumer lending, the presentation says.

For example, household debt on unsecured loans in Russia also hit a new high as of October 2019 reaching 8.9%, which is the highest level since January 2015.

An increase in home loan payments also contributed to total debt load dynamics, Danilova explained. "The total (debt load dynamics) rose in the period due to an increase in home loan (payments). Now it is stable," she said.

The Central Bank projects that debt load may decline in the fourth quarter of this year as growth rates of new loans' extension slow down and interest rates subside. Moreover, Danilova noted that the Central Bank maintains its consumer lending growth outlook for 2020 at 10%.

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