Banks focused on consumer lending to reduce presence on Belarusian market

One of the banks focused on consumer lending, announced a change of strategy, and a possible transformation into a non-bank financial institution. Due to reduced incomes, consumer lending has declined in Belarus. The expected decrease in interest rates on rouble loans to 32% per annum is unlikely to increase demand for such loans significantly due to negative developments on the labour market. Most likely, consumer loans will continue to reduce. Due to lobbying by Belarusian producers, the state may launch credit programmes to stimulate demand for domestic products. Companies focused on the domestic market are likely to offer deterred payments for their products without the use of banking products. Banks with a high share of consumer loans in their credit portfolio will be forced to optimize staff and their branch network, some may change their regional development strategy and focus on other credit types.