According to ‘Rusipoteka’ analytical center, Russian Agricultural Bank (RusAg) was the only bank among top 10 in the mortgage segment which grew lending during the lockdown period amid the coronavirus outbreak and overall drop in economic activity.
In April, based on internal data, the Bank issued RUB 9 billion in mortgage loans, which is a 2% growth vs March.
“RusAg was first to launch subsidized rural mortgage lending and this product gained strong momentum in April. A record low interest rate at 2.7% p.a. is attractive even in comparison with global benchmarks. With a wide range of utilization options this loan type matches Russian consumers’ needs. Economic pressures that are currently experienced by population due to the coronavirus outbreak have highlighted advantages of the program. Rural mortgage lending has become the driver of new loan issuance,” Oleg Ovsyanitskiy, Deputy Chairman of the Board at RusAg, said.
By the end of May subsidized rural mortgage lending continued generating higher demand. The Bank has issued RUB 14.9 billion under this program.
The Leningrad region, Bashkortostan, the Novosibirsk region, Udmurtia and Tatarstan displayed highest demand for this product.
Any Russian citizen aged from 21 to 75 can apply for a subsidized rural mortgage loan. The amount of a 25-year loan should fall within a range of RUB 100 thousand up to RUB 3 million (RUB 5 million for the Leningrad region and the Far Eastern Federal District). The minimum down payment is 10%.