Sberbank raises consumer lending by 54% to 797 bln rbl in 2016

MOSCOW, Jan 26 (PRIME) -- Russia’s top bank Sberbank has increased the amount of consumer loans it issued in 2016 by 54% to 797 billion rubles, Natalya Alymova, head of the bank’s department for retail non-transaction products, told reporters on Thursday.

The volume accounts for 87% of consumer loans issued in the pre-crisis year of 2014. In December 2016 alone, the bank granted 88 billion rubles of loans, which is the highest figure since September 2014, she said.

“We link this success with the restoration of consumer demand secured by a gradual decrease of interest rates. Sberbank cut its interest rates three times in 2016 and also launched special promotions of consumer loans three times. We returned the basic rates to the pre-crisis levels, and rates under the New Year promotion, in effect until January 31, are even lower than before the crisis,” she said.

(59.1489 rubles – U.S. $1)

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