The average amount of non-payment on the loan was 200 thousand rubles. This is stated in the study of the National Association of Professional Collection Agencies (SRO «NAPCA”), which was reviewed by “Izvestia”. Next to Tyumen in the rating are Moscow and Saint Petersburg with arrears of 189 thousand and 180 thousand rubles, respectively. According to experts, residents of these regions actively collected loans two or three years ago to keep consumption at the usual level. However, the economic situation remains difficult, so they stop paying on loans.

Change of a leader

Last year, the average amount of a default loan, which accounts for one debtor, decreased by 3.1%, to 129.9 thousand rubles, compared to 2018 and by 9.4% compared to 2017, according to research by SRO “NAPCA”. It only applied to consumer loans and did not include mortgages. The trend indicates an improvement in the payment discipline in the country as a whole, which is confirmed by the statistics of the Central Bank. The regulator recorded a decrease in the share of delays from 5.1 to 4.3% on January 1, 2020. However, the situation has worsened in some Russian regions. So, in 2019, four new regions appeared in the top 10 for the maximum amount of defaulted loans per defaulter.

The first place in 10 Top went to the Tyumen region, although a year earlier it was on the 20th line. The average amount of bad debt per borrower there increased by 36.1%, to 200 thousand rubles. Moscow was on the second line. In the capital, the average amount of default non-payment decreased by 5.5% over the year and amounted to 189 thousand rubles. Third place in St. Petersburg (180 thousand rubles). Although in 2018, these regions ranked the first and the fourth, respectively.

Also in 2019, the Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara regions were among the ten worst. A year earlier, they were ranked 14th, 16th and 11th, respectively.

The indicator of the average amount of defaulted debt indicates the level of creditworthiness of people, explained Elman Mekhtiev, the Head of NAPCA. According to him, the larger the amount of unpaid loan, the more time and effort will be required from the citizen to resolve the issue. For example, if the average salary in the Tyumen region is 48 thousand rubles, the debtor needs a little less than a year to repay the loan, if 50% of the income will go to its repayment. In Sevastopol, where the minimum amount of default loans was fixed, it is about two to three months under the same conditions, he added.

The Tyumen region is one of the most heavily indebted regions, because its residents want to maintain their usual way of life, and incomes have fallen, explains Natalia Zubarevich, the Ranepa expert. According to her, a similar situation has developed in the regions of the Volga area and the Urals, where citizens can have four or five loans.

— It is logical, two or three years ago, someone took loans for vacation, someone for new equipment, and now there is nothing to pay with, — the expert added.

According to Yuri Kudryakov, CEO of the financial market “Unicom 24”, borrowers usually go into arrears two or three years after the loan is issued. During this time, on average, they manage to repay about 30-60% of the original loan amount, he said. No more than 5% of citizens who have taken out a loan refuse to pay on principle after a short period of time after it’s issuing.

The best situation with the average value of default debt was recorded in Sevastopol, Chechnya, the Republic of Tuva, the Chukotka Autonomous district and the Jewish Autonomous region. This is due to the weak development of credit in these regions. According to the Central Bank, the portfolio of bad loans in these subjects is 4.2 billion out of 729.9 billion rubles across Russia.

Regional disparity

The government of the Tyumen region did not explain the reason for the sharp movement of the region in the rating of delay from the 20th to the first place. The press service of the Ministry of economic development of the Chelyabinsk region explained to Izvestia that they expect to improve the solvency of citizens in 2020. This means a reduction in the amount of defaulted debt, they explained.

The decrease in the amount of overdue debt in Moscow indicates economic development and more opportunities to earn, said Fedor Vachata, the CEO of M.B.A. Finance. In the regions, arrears are growing due to a lack of funds for living, he added. According to him, citizens are forced to choose between paying for loans or to buy products.

The press service of the Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the Finance Committee of St. Petersburg recommended seek the explanation at the Central Bank. They did not respond promptly to a request from “Izvestia” about the reasons for defaults in the regions. The rest of the regions could not immediately comment on why the situation with overdue debts has changed.

The financial situation of citizens determines the dynamics of the average amount of delay, said Roman Volosnikov, the General Director of the collection Agency NSC. According to him, the formula is simple — the less money in a person’s pocket, the higher the amount of unpaid debts.

Earlier, “Izvestia” reported on improving the economic health of the population of the regions. It was estimated how much it is possible to buy for the average per capita income, retail trade turnover per citizen, consumer price index and unemployment rate. According to the press service of the Expert RA rating Agency, the creditworthiness of citizens was not taken into account.