Starting from October 15, 2026, the Bank of Russia establishes risk factor allowances for banks' investments in bonds secured by cash flows from consumer loans, including car loans, as well as for credit requirements for specialized companies issuing such securities. This is stated in the message of the Central Bank.
The decision was made to limit the systemic risks of consumer lending and minimize regulatory arbitrage. Macroprudential surcharges are set at 250% and will apply to both originator and investor banks. No surcharges are applied to mortgage bonds.
In recent years, banks have stepped up securitization transactions for consumer loans. From the beginning of 2023 to July 2026, 64 issues of consumer credit securitization bonds were issued in the amount of 1.5 trillion rubles (for 2019-2022 – 8 issues in the amount of 51 billion rubles).
As of August 1, 2026, 58% of the bonds issued since the beginning of 2023 still remain in the banking system circuit. First of all, the originator banks retain the junior tranche of at least 20%, which absorbs the main losses on the pool of loans. In addition, investor banks hold 43% of the volume of issued bonds.
In some cases, the vast majority of the bonds issued by the bank are held by other banks (for individual issues, the share reaches 100% as of August 1, 2026). This may reflect cross-border transactions aimed at mutual unloading of capital. Macroprudential surcharges on securitized loans were dissolved by the originator and not formed by the investor, while the risk remained within the banking sector, the regulator notes.
Currently, the quality of consumer loans has been balanced – the share of cash loans with a delay of more than 30 days in the third month from the date of issue decreased to 0.7% for loans issued in April 2026 (1.6% for loans issued in April 2025). The accumulated macroprudential buffer of 7.4% as of August 1, 2026 is sufficient to cover possible risks in the event of a slowdown in income growth. However, against the background of the recovery of the consumer lending market (in January – July 2026, the portfolio grew by 4.1% compared with a decrease of 3.2% in the same period of 2025), it is important to maintain capital reserves, the Central Bank believes.
The macroprudential surcharge on the originator's investments is set taking into account the risk assumed by the originator holding the junior tranche. For banks using a standardized approach, the risk ratio, taking into account the macroprudential surcharge, will be 315%. Taking into account the fact that the originator banks mainly retain the junior tranche of at least 20%, the capital consumption for the originator, taking into account the surcharge, will be 4 times lower (compared with loans), which preserves incentives for asset securitization.
A macroprudential surcharge (250%) has also been established for investor banks' investments in order to discourage banks from cross-investing in bonds issued during the securitization of consumer loans. The final risk ratio, taking into account the macroprudential surcharge for investor banks, will be 52% (investors, as a rule, purchase the senior tranche, which is characterized by much lower risk).
When selling securities to non-bank investors (non-credit financial institutions, retail investors, and so on), investor surcharges are not applied, which will preserve incentives for securitization of consumer loans in general.
In case of increased risks, the Bank of Russia may increase the value of surcharges. This may be indicated by the following signs: an unbalanced growth in the consumer loan portfolio, accompanied by an increase in the volume of securitization of such assets; an increase in the share of banks in the structure of investors in bonds issued during the securitization of consumer loans (cross-investments); a significant reduction in the macroprudential capital buffer for consumer loans due to the securitization of loans.
In 2027, the Bank of Russia plans to amend Bank of Russia Regulation No. 647-P dated July 4, 2018 and Bank of Russia Regulation No. 824-P dated September 18, 2023 to take into account securitization risks in more detail. After that, macroprudential surcharges can be adjusted if necessary.
