In the first half a year of 2018 Russians borrowed a record amount of money to repay credits. Over 68 billion rubles (USD 1 billion) was borrowed by citizens to cover repayments for old debts. That’s 70% more than during the same period of the last year.
Russians borrow money to repay debts
In 2018 citizens of Russia have been forced to borrow more money to repay old debts than in previous years. RIA Novosty reported that the number of loans where funds had been borrowed to repay debts was 1.7 times higher this year as compared to the previous period of 2017 (131 thousand vs. 92 thousand).
The average size of consumer loan to refinance grew by 17% in 2018 as compared to the same period of 2017. The average loan to refinance debt now stands at over half a million rubles: 520,000 rubles or US $7,900.
It’s not only the working age people that are getting deeper into debts. Every fifth pensioner in Russia owes money to banks and lenders. The average amount people aged 60+ owe is 107,200 rubles (around $1,630). The average pension in the country is only 14,000 rubles per month (just over USD 200). So, pensioners owe as much as 8 times their monthly income from a pension. The minimum pension in Russia is 8,726 rub. (USD 130), although in some regions such as Moscow it’s higher: 11,816 RUB ($175). The minimum pension depends on the sustenance level and varies depending on the cost of life in the region.
The majority of refinancing deals are for consumer loans and credit cards.
We reported previously that Russia has the highest wealth inequality in the world from all the countries. It’s way above the second contender, India, and the owners of the third place in the inequality rating, Brazil. In 2016 the top 1% of rich people in Russia owned 65% of its private wealth.
Share this article
CommentsКомментарии ( 0 )