- Статьи
- Economy
- The first debt: half of the clients of MFIs take loans to pay for housing and communal services and basic needs
The first debt: half of the clients of MFIs take loans to pay for housing and communal services and basic needs
Half of the clients of microfinance organizations take out loans to pay for housing and communal services and daily needs. Moreover, the number of such people is growing, experts say. This is due to the fact that banks have tightened the approval of loans, people have to pay for large purchases immediately — they do not have the opportunity to repay the amount, for example, over the course of a year with a loan. Because of this, they increasingly do not have enough money for basic needs. The growth of household incomes is also slowing down. Why the trend may be an alarming signal and what it says about the purchasing power of the population is in the Izvestia article.
What do Russians borrow from MFIs for?
The most common reason for Russians to apply to MFIs is not impulsive purchases, but basic expenses. Among them are utility bills and other planned daily expenses. This was reported to Izvestia by major market players.
Loans for daily purchases do make up a significant proportion, confirmed Roman Makarov, CEO of IFC Zaymer. The share of such loans here is 46%, he said. At the same time, the total number of applications for funds in the first six months of 2025 exceeded 4.4 million. In the same period of 2024, there were fewer of them - 4.28 million. The number of requests is growing due to a new young audience, as well as the influx of customers from banks, the company is confident.
The share of loans for basic consumer needs, which include consumer goods and services, amounted to 42% in the first half of 2025, according to Webbankir statistics. Of these, the number of loans for utility bills is growing markedly: by almost a quarter compared to the first half of 2024. The company sees several reasons for this trend.
— Many people are used to using loans from MFIs to maintain their usual standard of living, despite high inflation. In addition, due to the high key interest rate and regulatory restrictions, banks have seriously increased their requirements for customers. MFIs are also forced to evaluate borrowers more closely, especially those with high debt loads. Nevertheless, it's still easier to get a loan here," said Andrey Ponomarev, CEO of the online financial platform.
To pay for utilities or debts on them, 18% of the surveyed Lime-loan customers apply for a loan of up to 5 thousand rubles, 10% — up to 20 thousand rubles and 3% — up to 70 thousand rubles.
Izvestia also asked the Bank of Russia if they saw the risks of an increase in micro-loans for everyday needs. The Central Bank confirmed that for customers with a small loan, spending on essential goods really prevails in the cost structure. But the regulator is also concerned that a significant proportion of loans are also spent on paying off previous loans, which draws people into a debt spiral.
When loans will become more available
Experts interviewed by Izvestia also confirmed that the number of borrowers applying for microloans to pay for housing and communal services and other basic needs has increased significantly in 2025. Now this is almost half of all MFIs' clients.
— Compared to 2024, the share of such loans has increased by about 10-15%. The jump is especially noticeable against the background of high inflation in the food segment," said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
According to him, the increase in demand for loans issued for basic necessities is due to the tightening of cash loans by banks.
— This has become a kind of workaround that allows you to obtain financing in conditions where banks either refuse or offer obviously unfavorable conditions for ordinary consumer loans. As a result, loans were formally used to cover those basic needs. This substitution of goals makes it difficult to assess the real credit burden and makes the market less transparent," explained Vladimir Chernov.
The decrease in the availability of bank loans is really causing an increase in demand for microloans, independent expert Andrei Barkhota drew attention. In addition to them, pawnshop loans and car loans can also be an alternative to cash loans, which are much less popular, he added.
The risks associated with this trend are significant, warns Vladimir Chernov of Freedom Finance Global. Firstly, this means an increase in the debt burden of socially vulnerable groups, as loans for primary needs are often taken in desperation. Secondly, it is a threat to the sustainability of MFIs themselves, and delinquency in this segment is growing. In addition, in social and macroeconomic contexts, this is an alarming signal of a decrease in the purchasing power of the population and the risks of rising poverty, the expert concluded.
In the near future, banks will not weaken the requirements for new borrowers and the influx of clients to MFIs will continue, predicts Andrey Barkhota. This year, the level of overdue loans among Russians is already growing, and by the end of the year, the volume of non-repayable loans will increase, the expert believes. In the coming months, the availability of financing will not increase, while the demand for loans will continue to grow.
On the other hand, by the end of the year, the Central Bank may reduce the key rate to 15%, market participants expect. Due to this, loans from banks will become cheaper and more accessible to people.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
