Belarusian Banks Sharply Reduced The Volume Of Lending To The Population
- 4.06.2025, 15:12
The boom is over.
Belarusian banks seem to have started to follow the advice of the new leadership of the National Bank, and in April 2025 significantly reduced the volume of issuance of both consumer loans and loans to finance real estate, writes select.by.
According to the National Bank of Belarus, banks provided individuals with consumer loans for Br1,008.7 million for the month, which is less than in March 2025 by Br109.2 million. Moreover, in April 2026, the same indicator amounted to Br1,069.9 million, that is, there is a reduction in lending in annual terms.
For four months of this year, banks granted consumer loans for Br4,245.0 million, which is Br0.45 billion more than in the same period last year.
In January-April 2025, they provided loans to finance real estate in the amount of 1,080.9 million rubles - by 16.7 million rubles less than a year ago.
The reason for this was a decrease in the rate of lending in April: by 99.1 million rubles compared to March - to 262.5 million rubles. This may have been caused by the reduction in the construction of housing for people on the waiting list, carried out with government support.
Debt of individuals on consumer loans in April increased by only Br110.6 million and reached Br10.767.3 million. The same indicator for real estate increased by Br132.8 million to Br16,574.4 million.
Debt of legal entities to commercial banks (excluding the Development Bank) in April increased much more significantly. In particular, the ruble debt of state-owned commercial enterprises increased by Br187.1 million and reached Br20.622.3 million. In the private sector, this indicator increased by Br399 million - up to Br18.955.9 million.
Belarusian enterprises actively borrowed in foreign currency. Such debt of the public sector of the economy increased by $9.5 million (to $2.698.7 million) compared to March, while the private sector - by $163.1 million (to $2.831 million).
Foreign currency credit debt of only non-bank financial institutions decreased: by $10.6 million - to Br819.9 million. Their debt in Belarusian rubles increased by Br62.3 million - up to Br2,077.2 million.
The total credit debt of the economy to commercial banks increased by Br974 million in April and reached Br88,408.8 million. The debt on borrowings in the national currency increased by Br891.3 million to Br69,026.2 million. The main contribution to its increase was made by legal entities.
Long-term lending in rubles increased at a faster pace in April. The debt of the economy on such loans in the national currency rose by Br726.3 million compared to March - up to Br48.890.6 million. The same short-term debt increased by only Br166.4 million and amounted to Br20,026.4 million on May 1.
Debt on loans in foreign currency increased by $161.8 million - up to $6,352.4 million. It has increased for five consecutive months, although the figure had been declining early last year. Probably, banks tend to provide loans in foreign currency, insuring themselves against the risks of ruble devaluation.