The Bank of Russia announced measures to support credit institutions

The Bank of Russia announced measures to support credit institutions in order to ensure their stability in the face of restrictions imposed by Western countries, the regulator said in a statement.

In particular, as part of its countercyclical macroprudential policy, the Bank of Russia is dissolving the accumulated macroprudential capital buffer from February 28, 2022 for unsecured consumer loans and mortgage loans in rubles and foreign currency (RUB 733 billion as of February 1, 2022). “The duration of the measure is indefinite. The level of allowances for risk ratios under the new requirements will be revised later, if necessary,” the Central Bank noted.
The Bank of Russia allowed credit institutions until December 31, 2022, if the deterioration in the financial position of the borrower occurred after February 18, 2022 and is due to sanctions, not to worsen the assessment of the financial position of the borrower when creating provisions for losses.
Also, until December 31, 2022, the regulator allows credit institutions not to worsen the assessment of the quality of debt service, regardless of the assessment of the financial position of the borrower on restructured loans. “The Bank of Russia recommends restructuring the debt, not imposing penalties and fines on loans (loans) if the financial situation of borrowers worsened after February 18, 2022 as a result of sanctions,” the statement says.