Russian banks have begun reducing discounts and introducing premiums on market mortgage rates, according to Kommersant, citing data from Dom.RF, the state housing development institution.
The Moscow Credit Bank was among the first to tighten conditions: in late July it prematurely cancelled a one-percentage-point discount for quickly closing a deal on finished housing. In August, VTB reduced from one to 0.5 percentage points a discount for borrowers with a down payment of 50% or more. Dom.RF, in turn, introduced a one-percentage-point premium on market programs for borrowers with a down payment below 50%.
All three banks rank in the top 20 by mortgage portfolio size. Since the start of July, average market mortgage rates have held at 18.7–18.74% per year for new builds and 18.67–18.71% for finished housing.
Experts surveyed by the newspaper link the changes to a slowdown in the central bank's key rate cuts. At its meetings on June 19 and July 24, the Central Bank lowered the rate by only 0.25 percentage points each time, and after the July meeting it raised its forecast for the average key rate in 2026.
The cost of attracting funds for banks is also rising, Vitaly Kostyukevich, director of the retail products department at Absolut Bank, told the publication. According to him, this is partly due to higher deposit rates after an outflow of funds from the banking sector. In May, banks recorded a record outflow of money from time deposits of individuals; the June inflow of nearly 163 billion rubles did not fully compensate for that decline.
Further changes in conditions will depend on the Central Bank's decisions and demand for market mortgages. If demand continues to fall, banks may offer discounts more actively; if it stabilizes or begins to grow, financial institutions will likely continue introducing premiums to maintain the profitability of their programs.