The share of extremely expensive business loans has dropped from 45.4% to 35.5%.

The proportion of ultra-high-interest loans has begun to decline—banks are cutting rates faster than the central bank adjusts its key rate. RBC analyzes when borrowing costs will reach an acceptable level and when it will become profitable for companies to take out loans again.

Rate Cuts Outpace Central Bank Decisions

In May 2025, even before the central bank’s key rate reduction, Russian banks began issuing fewer business loans at extremely high interest rates (above 24%), according to Central Bank statistics reviewed by RBC. Their share of total lending fell from 45.4% to 35.5%, effectively returning to pre-November 2024 levels.

Businesses are increasingly avoiding expensive loans, and banks are easing terms even “slightly faster” than monetary policy changes, confirms Anton Danilov-Danilyan, deputy chairman of Delovaya Rossiya.

Andrey Goncharenko, deputy general director of PSK-Solutions investment company, says: “What’s happening in the market can confidently be called a repricing—and a forward-looking one at that.”

Key Factors for Businesses Considering Loans

RBC examines why this trend is emerging, how quickly corporate lending rates will continue to fall, and under what conditions businesses should resume borrowing.