Growth of lending to Russian economy slows to 0.7% in May from 1% in April - CBR

MOSCOW. June 24 (Interfax) - The growth of lending to the Russian economy slowed to 0.7% in May from 1.0% in April, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said in a commentary.

The indicator for lending to the economy includes all claims on loans, bonds, promissory notes and so on that banks have against Russian companies (financial and nonfinancial) and households (individuals and individual entrepreneurs), the CBR said.

Lending to the economy slowed due to claims against organizations, the growth of which decreased to 0.8% in May from 1.3% in April, largely due to ruble loans. Loans and other claims in foreign currency also saw more modest growth than in April, the CBR said.

Corporate loans increased by 0.6% in May after growing by 1.2% in April.

The growth of retail lending, meanwhile, accelerated in May, with loans to households up by 0.4% after edging up 0.1% in April. Nonetheless, this growth was far slower than in May 2024, the CBR said.

"In May 2025, tight monetary and credit conditions continued to curb lending," the CBR said. The CBR cited figures before forex revaluation.

The commentary was prepared by the CBR's statistics and monetary policy departments. The methodology for calculating the figures differs from the one used in the commentary on the development of the banking sector, which will be published on June 26 with data for May.

The CBR uses indicators for lending to the economy and money supply to assess monetary and credit conditions for conducting its monetary policy.