Russian Banks Issue Nearly 4 Million Loans in March 2026 Surge
According to the United Credit Bureau, banks in Russia's Krasnodar Region issued 161,000 retail loans totaling 40.3 billion rubles in March 2026.
Compared to February, this marks a 23% increase in the number of loans and a 25% rise in total volume.
In the first quarter of 2026, Kuban residents took out 421,000 retail loans worth 110 billion rubles. By loan volume, Krasnodar Region ranked fourth among all Russian regions.
Nationwide, Russian banks issued 3.82 million retail loans in March 2026—a 28% jump from February's 2.99 million. Compared to March 2025, the increase reached 38%.
Mikhail Aleksin, CEO of the United Credit Bureau, noted that despite the Central Bank of Russia's strict measures to curb household debt, nearly 4 million loans were issued in March—the highest figure in nearly a year and a half. However, the total monetary volume did not match December 2025's peak of 1.5 trillion rubles, primarily due to a decline in large mortgage loans as a share of overall lending. Nevertheless, with further interest rate cuts expected, March's results set a positive trend for the rest of 2026.
