Credit impulse in Russia falls below pandemic level in April - CBR analysts

MOSCOW. May 28 (Interfax) - The credit impulse in Russia continued to fall in April and dropped below the pandemic level, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said in a bulletin on the latest trends.

Lending is increasingly contributing to the transition to more moderate growth of overall demand, the CBR said. The positive contribution from corporate lending decreased while the negative contribution of retail lending increased.

The negative value of the indicator means that credit created less demand in the economy in the 12 months to the end of April 2025 than in the previous 12 month period (May 2023 through April 2024).

The retail portfolio, seasonally adjusted, was unchanged in March and, according to preliminary estimates, there was a similar dynamic in April. A decrease in demand for loans amid high interest rates is the main reason for the cooling of lending. The number of loan applications decreased considerably compared to the average figures in past years, while the share of approved applications even increased slightly compared to the end of 2024.

"The influence of the tightening of macroprudential requirements is apparently making a small contribution to the overall slowdown of lending, limiting the accumulation of excessive risks in certain segments of the market," the bulletin said.

The CBR analysts also said that the money supply has been growing significantly more slowly since the beginning of 2025 than the average in 2023-2024, which will help to gradually reduce inflationary pressure.