TITLE: Bank of Russia Plans Loan Reservation Amendments and Capital Adequacy Updates
BODY:
On July 30, 2026, the Bank of Russia announced upcoming regulatory changes aimed at strengthening the banking sector's financial stability and credit quality. The central bank plans to complete work on amendments to loan reservation procedures during the third quarter of 2026, with implementation expected to commence in January 2027.
The proposed changes introduce stricter requirements for assessing borrower creditworthiness. For individuals, only official documents will be accepted to verify income, while for large companies, the presence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) financial statements will be considered when evaluating risks. These measures aim to enhance the quality of banks' credit portfolios through improved reliability of financial analysis information.
The Bank of Russia also plans to update requirements for banks' internal capital adequacy assessment procedures (ВПОДК). Under the new framework, the ВПОДК surcharge will become part of the minimum capital adequacy ratio and will be more differentiated, ranging from zero to five percent. This differentiated approach is designed to incentivise banks to improve risk management practices and strengthen their overall financial resilience.
Additionally, the Bank of Russia intends to consult with the banking community on a potential new foreign currency liquidity standard, which would encourage banks to accumulate adequate liquidity reserves in advance to manage potential outflows of funds.
The central bank has also published several completed regulatory initiatives, including a new concept for credit concentration risk regulation, an updated methodology for assessing banks' economic positions, new minimum capital requirements, a concept for subordinated instrument regulation, and changes to group-level regulatory ratio approaches following market consultation.