Indecent behavior: banks have reduced loan concessions by one and a half times
Banks have become less likely to make concessions to debtors — the number of consumer loan relief has decreased by almost one and a half times over the year, according to data from the OKB, which was studied by Izvestia. Moreover, in 2026, market participants switched from real assistance to formal measures - instead of postponing or reducing payments, they simply do not impose new fines. This does not reduce the burden on problem borrowers. What explains such measures and what options remain for clients is in the Izvestia article.
Why have banks become less likely to meet customers halfway?
In total, in April – June 2026, banks made concessions on 490 thousand loans. This is 22% less than in the same period of 2025, according to data from the United Credit Bureau (OKB), which was studied by Izvestia. The main drop in the second quarter was in the consumer loans segment — their requirements were mitigated 43% less frequently than a year ago — only 322.7 thousand times.
Over the same period, the number of mortgage, car loan, and credit card concessions increased by 18-36%, but these segments accounted for only a quarter of all debt relief that banks generally make. Most of the conditions are being changed in the consumer lending segment. Among the main options:
postponement of the payment date — the bank reschedules the next mandatory payment to a later date, usually by one to three months, without penalties (the share of such concessions among all in May 2026 was 40.6%);
non—deduction of interest - for a certain period, the bank suspends their accumulation for the principal debt, which reduces the financial burden on the borrower (the average share in May 2026 is 21.5%);
penalty forgiveness — full or partial cancellation of previously accrued penalties, penalties and late fines (the average share in May was 35%);
replacement of collateral from one collateral to another — the borrower can offer the bank other property instead of the original one (the average share in May 2026 was 2.3%);
A temporary reduction in the amount of the payment is a reduction in the amount of the monthly contribution due to an extension of the loan term or a change in the repayment schedule (the average share in May 2026 was 0.7%).
The OKB data does not reveal how the dynamics of requests for help to banks has changed, that is, it is impossible to say for sure whether their number has increased, remained the same or decreased. According to Dmitry Gritskevich, Head of Banking and Financial Market Analysis at PSB, the overall reduction in the number of loan relief measures indicates a gradual improvement in the quality of the banks' loan portfolio.
The Central Bank introduced special limits for consumer loans in the first place — they limit the issuance of loans to customers who spend more than half of their income on debts, said Nikolai Filippov, Director of Risk Management Methodology and Data Analytics at OKB. As a result, banks began to take a cautious approach to approving cash loans, and the number of problematic cases began to decrease.
At the same time, the delay in consumer loans is now at the level of 9.3–9.4%. On the one hand, this is quite a lot, on the other hand, the indicator has stopped growing and has stabilized. This allows us to expect that the number of problem debts will decrease in the future, Dmitry Gritskevich believes.
For the bank, the cancellation of the fine is better than a credit vacation.
However, in 2026, the very nature of assistance changed: banks began to choose tools more often that allow them to formally support the client, but at the same time have less impact on their financial performance.
It follows from the OKB data that in the second quarter they began to forgive fines on problem loans twice as often. The share of this type of relief increased more than fivefold from May to June and reached a third.
Against this background, the total number of cases where creditors resorted to debt interest forgiveness or reduced monthly payments fell by 32% and 53%, respectively.
Banks are indeed reducing the share of "real" restructurings, such as credit holidays or rate cuts, more often limiting themselves to the abolition of fines and penalties as a minimally costly concession, confirmed Mikhail Bryukhanov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pervouralskbank JSC.
Credit organizations seek to reduce risks for themselves and choose less radical options for assistance, while simultaneously trying to stimulate dialogue with borrowers who have not yet reached the stage of open delinquency, said Vasily Kutyin, Director of Analytics at Ingo Bank.
The reason for this policy is also related to the specifics of banking regulation. Changing the payment schedule or forgiving part of the debt requires reviewing the quality of the loan and increasing the reserves allocated for it, explained Pavel Zholobov, Associate managing director of the NRA rating service. Non-payment of penalties has almost no effect on the financial result and allows you not to change the status of the loan.
As a result, the bank can make a relatively small concession to the client and at the same time avoid a significant increase in costs for the entire loan, the PSB explained. At the same time, postponing payments often only shifts the problem to the future and does not reduce the risks of the loan going into arrears, and the final overpayment for the borrower increases in this case.
Another factor is the risk of so—called moral damage to the loan portfolio. Massive "generous" restructurings may encourage some customers to deliberately delay payments in anticipation of new relief. Therefore, banks limit the scale of real assistance, Mikhail Bryukhanov believes.
When will it be easier to get a loan relief
In the near future, the approach to loan concessions will depend on the financial situation of the population and the level of interest rates. Income growth reduces the need for assistance, while a high debt burden, on the contrary, increases the number of requests for restructuring, Pavel Zholobov explained.
As long as the Central Bank's rate remains high, it is unprofitable for banks to accumulate restructured loans on their balance sheets, with lower incomes, the NRA concluded. Therefore, creditors will maintain a cautious approach to changing the terms of contracts.
At the same time, borrowers may continue to have problems, said Valeria Popova, senior analyst at the Rikom-Trust investment company. Therefore, banks in general have become more careful when dealing with consumer loans.
It is important for borrowers to contact the bank on their own before a serious delay occurs, said Nikolai Filippov from OKB. The initiator of the assignment under the contract is always the client himself: if a person realizes that he will not be able to pay the loan on time, he needs to contact a financial institution as soon as possible. The earlier the dialogue begins, the more likely it is to find an acceptable solution.
At the same time, without additional incentives, banks are likely to continue to adhere to conservative policies and limit themselves to minimal formal easing, Pavel Zholobov concluded.
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