Against the backdrop of a sharp increase in the key rate by the Central Bank, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to leave interest on mortgage loans operating in the country unchanged.

This was announced on Monday, February 28, by the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov.

“Putin instructed to ensure the preservation of mortgage rates - the same rates that are indicated in mortgage agreements,” the Kremlin spokesman said.

On Monday morning, the Board of Directors of the Bank of Russia raised the key rate by 10.5 percentage points at once - from 9.5 to a record 20% per annum.

The Central Bank explained this decision by the need to maintain financial stability in the face of new sanctions.

“Our financial system and economy are now facing a completely non-standard situation, and the Bank of Russia will be very flexible in using any necessary tools ... We are constantly in contact with banks and are ready to promptly take the necessary measures to support them,” said the Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina.

During a speech on Monday, the head of the regulator warned of increased inflationary risks.

In such a situation, according to her, in order to protect citizens' savings from depreciation, it is necessary to increase deposit rates to such levels that will allow people to compensate for rising prices.

At the same time, it is important to maintain opportunities for lending to citizens and businesses, Nabiullina stressed.

“We recommend banks to meet the needs of their clients: to restructure loans, not to impose penalties and fines on such loans.

This applies to loans to both citizens and businesses.

At the same time, banks may not worsen the assessment of the financial position of borrowers and the quality of debt servicing.

I would like to emphasize that for existing loans issued at fixed rates, banks cannot change the conditions,” Elvira Nabiullina explained.

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Traditionally, banks closely monitor changes in the key rate of the Central Bank and, based on decisions made by the regulator, independently determine the level of long-term rates on deposits and loans, including mortgages.

In the current environment, maintaining interest on housing loans already issued is necessary in order to prevent a decline in people's living standards.

This opinion was shared with RT by the first vice-president of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses "Support of Russia" Pavel Sigal.

“If we talk about the ability of banks to maintain rates, then the Central Bank has already announced plans to dissolve the accumulated capital buffers for all types of loans.

Thus, the banks will have 900 billion rubles at their disposal.

This measure is permanent.

The Central Bank may also revise the level of premiums to risk ratios under the new requirements in order to free up additional capital for banks,” the expert added.

It should be noted that today the average rate on housing loans for new buildings in Russia is 11% per annum, and for finished housing - 11.3% per annum.

Such data is provided by the company "DOM.RF".

At the same time, preferential mortgage programs continue to operate in the country.

So, for example, today families with one or more children born after January 1, 2018 have the opportunity to get a housing loan at 6% per annum.

The maximum amount of such a loan depends on the region: for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow and Leningrad regions it is 12 million rubles, and for other regions of the country - 6 million rubles.

In addition, until July 1, 2022, all Russians can apply for a mortgage for the purchase of housing in a new building worth no more than 3 million rubles at a rate of up to 7% per annum.

As part of the initiatives, the reduced interest will be valid for the entire term of the loan.

At the same time, the state reimburses the difference between the market and preferential rates to banks.

It is noteworthy that at the moment many banks provide housing loans at a lower interest rate than stated in the programs.

So, according to DOM.RF, today financial institutions issue family mortgages at an average of 4.75% per annum, and preferential ones at 5.89% per annum.

“In general, the instruction to ensure the preservation of rates on already concluded loans will help to somewhat calm the credit market.

A positive role is also played by the recommendation of the Central Bank not to impose fines on customers for delays and to restructure debt if the borrower has difficulty servicing the loan.

For the population, all this is a guarantee that the debt burden of people will not grow, ”Nikita Maslennikov, head of the Finance and Economics department at the Institute of Contemporary Development, told RT.

Response to sanctions

Vladimir Putin also signed a decree "On the application of special economic measures in connection with the unfriendly actions of the United States and foreign states and international organizations that have joined them."

According to the document, Russian exporters will have to sell 80% of their foreign exchange earnings credited from January 1, 2022.

Note that the corresponding proposal was previously voiced by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.

As expected, the initiative should support the ruble exchange rate in the face of Western sanctions.

“This measure will ensure a uniform supply of foreign currency in the domestic foreign exchange market to meet the needs of importers and citizens,” Nabiullina noted.

In addition, the document signed by the President forbids Russian citizens and companies from March 1 to transfer foreign currency to repay loans and credit it to their accounts abroad.

At the same time, it is planned to simplify the procedures for opening bank accounts and transferring money between credit institutions for individuals.

Recall that the first package of new anti-Russian restrictions was introduced by the United States, the EU and a number of other countries after Vladimir Putin announced the recognition of the independence of the DPR and LPR on February 21.

The restrictions affected the sovereign debt of Russia, the state corporation VEB.RF, Promsvyazbank, as well as the majority of State Duma deputies.

At the same time, Germany suspended the certification of Nord Stream 2.

Later, on February 24, Vladimir Putin announced the start of a military operation to protect Donbass from aggression from Ukraine.

The reaction of the West followed immediately, and Washington, along with its allies, announced more serious sanctions.

The restrictions also affected a number of banks and several large Russian companies.

In particular, we are talking about Sberbank, VTB, Gazprom, Rostelecom and Russian Railways.

Restrictions also affected high-tech imports from Russia.

The third and, according to experts, the most stringent package of restrictions, Western countries presented on February 27.

The sanctions imply the disconnection of some Russian banks from the international SWIFT system, as well as the freezing of almost half of the Central Bank's gold and foreign exchange reserves.

In addition, the European Union decided to completely close its airspace to Russia.

“Our economy was ready for such consequences and prepared an airbag for a long time in case of sanctions.

Yes, they will be tangible for the Russian economy, but the state will be able to stabilize the situation,” concluded Pavel Sigal.