Russian retail credit rejection rate eases in September

Russia's retail credit application rejection rate stood at 79.2% in September 2026. The National Bureau of Credit Histories published the figures on October 9.

The rate was 79.5% in August and 80.9% in July. It fell by 0.3 percentage points over the month and by 1.7 percentage points compared with July. Despite the decline, lenders continued to reject most applications.

NBKI's statistics draw on information supplied by lenders reporting to the bureau. They cover consumer loans, point-of-sale loans, credit cards, car loans and mortgages. The measure concerns applications and should not be interpreted as the proportion of unique individuals denied credit.

NBKI marketing director Alexey Volkov attributes the high rejection rate to banks' limited risk appetite and restrictions on lending to people with high debt burdens. He says lenders are scrutinising credit histories more closely to reduce the risk of future overdue payments.

Competition for applicants with strong creditworthiness remains intense. Even for those applicants, however, Volkov said the rejection rate was 50%. A decline in the overall rate does not itself mean that banks have relaxed their requirements for every category of borrower.