Lending to economy up 3.5% in 8M, retail lending up 7% - Nabiullina
SOCHI. Sept 14 (Interfax) - Russian banks increased lending to the economy by 3.5% in 8M 2017, with lending to individuals rising 7%, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at XV International Banking Forum "Banks of Russia - XXI Century," organized by the Association of Regional Banks of Russia (Association Russia) in Sochi.
"The main indicators of banks are demonstrating growth: in the 8M of this year, assets grew 4.5%, and loans to the economy - 3.5%, with loans to non-financial organizations up 2.3% and loans to individuals up 7%," Nabiullina said.
Personal deposits with Russian banks grew 5% in 8M, she said. Corporate deposits rose 0.9%. "The share of personal deposits in the liabilities of banks exceeded the share of corporate funding. The reverse tendency was true here for a long time," she said.
Banks boosted profit to 997 billion rubles in the 8M, exceeding earnings for the whole of 2016. "Profit is a source of capital growth, and we think that is what it must be used for above all," she said.
She said it is possible with certainty to talk about a recovery in retail lending and the simultaneous stabilization of its quality while banks are making the switch to more conservative scoring models.
"The Bank of Russia will continue to pay the closest attention to this segment. In general we have succeeded in stabilizing the quality of the loan portfolio, with arrears on corporate loans up slightly and on retail loans down slightly. The changes are very modest, and here we can talk rather about the stabilization of loan arrears," she said.