Issuance of car loans growing in Tatarstan, but it is far from pre-sanctions level of February

Tatarstan did not get into the top three regions-leaders in car loans

In June of this year, residents of Tatarstan took out 1,946 loans to buy a car. This is by 26,3% more than in the previous month — in May, their number was 1,541.

In terms of the number of car loans issued in June, Tatarstan ranked fourth in the ranking of 30 Russian regions-leaders in terms of loans issued for the purchase of a car. Moscow (2,775), Moscow Region (2,240) and St. Petersburg (2,060) are in the top 3, according to data from the National Bureau of Credit Histories.

The most significant increase in the issuance of car loans, compared with May, was recorded last month in Voronezh Oblast — by 43,2%. In Rostov Oblast, the increase was +39,2%, in Stavropol Krai — 39,1%, in Omsk and Kaluga Oblasts— 31,6% and 30,2%, respectively.

“The significant increase in issuance in May-June is primarily due to the reduction in the key rate of the Bank of Russia and the subsequent reduction in market rates. Besides, the level of approval of car loans increased significantly in June, amounting to 28% of the total number of applications (in May — 20%, in March — 13%)," explained Aleksey Volkov, the marketing director of NBKI.

Let us remind that in May Tatarstan also ranked 4th among the 30 leading regions of Russia in terms of car loans issued. The top three also included Moscow, Moscow Region and St. Petersburg.

Recovery trend

However, it is too early to talk about restoring car loans to the level of pre-sanction February. Lending in this segment noticeably collapsed after the start of the special operation in Ukraine and the subsequent anti-Russian restrictions by the West, many of whose countries are included in the list of unfriendly to Russia.

According to the NBKI, in Tatarstan, both in January and February 2022, residents took out more than 3 thousand loans to buy a car. For the next two months, the number of car loans did not exceed a thousand. In March, Tatarstan residents took out a minimum of loans for a car for the first half of the year — 686.

“The determining factor for the fall in the issuance of car loans in March was the increase in rates as a result of sanctions pressure. At the same time, in addition to sanctions, the reduction in the issuance of car loans was also affected by the shortage of new cars and spare parts for them that has been going on for many months," explained Aleksey Volkov.

Auto loans in Tatarstan began to recover at the end of spring. In May, residents of the republic have already issued more than 1,5 thousand loans for the purchase of a car. In June, their number almost reached the mark of two thousand.