What's happening in the credit card market

The credit card market is shrinking, banks are issuing them less and less willingly. But, unlike other credit products, plastic is still available, and bankers are confident that it will be the first to regain the positions lost during the crisis.

Citizens had just begun to get used to credit cards when banks began to curtail their issuance programs
Photo: Yuri Martyanov, Kommersant / buy photo

EKATERINA ALIKINA

Maximum caution

The crisis has affected all banking products, and credit cards are no exception. The risk that a client will lose his job is growing, and banks are becoming more and more cautious. “One good bank, in which I kept and keep a state-insured amount of rubles, bombarded me for a long time with an offer to open a credit card,” user Zanuda complains on the banki.ru forum. “And when I spent my time, they happily refused me, considering that I could don’t give away the 100 thousand limit.” “I’m not officially employed, but I have an income. I filled out an application in the online bank, an employee called back, went to the branch, and there they refused to fill out my documents as I was officially unemployed,” says another user on the same portal. And there are more and more such stories.

Indeed, many banks have closed lending to “off the street” clients, tightened scoring, raised interest rates, and thereby cut off a significant portion of potential borrowers. “Of course, the approach to credit card approval has become tougher,” says Alexey Shchavelev, director of the cross-selling department at OTP Bank. “As a rule, decisions are made by automated scoring systems based on statistical models, and most of the tightening is formed in the form of increased requirements for the client’s final scoring score ".

In short, bankers are now more likely to refuse three good clients than to take a risk and give money to one bad one. “We have temporarily stopped issuing credit cards to new clients,” says Pavel Belyaev, director of the product and service development department at Home Credit Bank. “To get a card from us, you need to be a bank client with a positive credit history and have an offer for a credit card. The risks of lending to such clients are lower, they repay better and are less likely to be late. In order to get a credit card, you need to have a history of relations with our bank, for example, have received a POS loan and carefully repaid it or placed your own funds in the bank (time deposit).”

According to the National Bureau of Credit History (NBKI), 1.5 times fewer credit cards were issued in January 2015 than in January 2014. For comparison, a year ago this market, on the contrary, showed a growth of 1.3 times. True, in other lending segments the situation is even worse. For example, in the number of issued car loans, January 2015 was less than January 2014 by more than half. The situation is similar with consumer lending. According to the NBKI, in January of this year, 642 thousand consumer loans were issued against 1.431 million a year earlier. Even the mortgage segment turned out to be worse than the credit card market - a decrease of 1.7 times. “On the one hand, there is pressure from the increased cost of risk and funding, on the other hand, the actions of the regulator and legislator to limit the cost of loans,” says Nikolai Volosevich, head of the department for the development of cash loans at Alfa Bank. “These factors influence the reduction of margins, which leads to restrictions growth of the loan portfolio in the banking system."

As Nikolai Volosevich explained, today we can say that banks are undergoing a total revision of credit policy. In most cases, the changes affected internal rules for assessing borrowers. In particular, banks are tightening requirements for the number of active loan agreements, the level of credit load and other profile indicators.

Alexey Kreitor, director of credit cards at Vostochny Express Bank, also draws attention to the fact that there are fewer quality borrowers on the market. However, he said, a customer with a good credit history and without excessive credit load can still get a credit card without any complications.

Count how much you give

Most credit institutions have seen their rates increase significantly over the past few months. According to Alexey Shchavelev, the market average increase here was 7-10 percentage points. “At the end of December 2014, Alfa Bank also increased lending rates on new issues,” says Nikolai Volosevich. “And in February 2015, rates in all segments decreased following a decrease in the key rate of the Bank of Russia.” But, of course, they did not drop to the previous level. If in December a card loan from Alfa Bank increased in price from 17.99-32.99% to 18.99-44% per annum, now it costs 23.99-38.99% per annum.

And, for example, the Bank of Moscow did not reduce interest rates at all after the Central Bank lowered the key rate. In December, the minimum cost of a loan on bank cards increased to 25% per annum, the maximum - to 36.9%. In January, the minimum increased a little more - to 29.9%, the maximum remained at the previously achieved level.

According to Frank Research Group, some banks began to raise rates only after the New Year. For example, since February, Bank Zenit began issuing cards with an annual rate of 30% (previously, the cost of the loan was 17-20%). Russian Standard Bank also raised rates for the first time last month - from 24-36% to 28-39%. It is noteworthy that several banks, in particular MTS Bank, Svyaznoy Bank, Sovcombank, in January-February chose to completely suspend the issue of credit cards.

However, you can also find banks where rates have not increased in the last six months - for example, Tinkoff Bank. But his rates were not small before - up to 45.9% per annum. In addition, the bank always set a small limit amount at first. “The client is first given a low credit limit (which corresponds to his monthly income), and if this is a financially disciplined client who regularly pays the loan, the bank may consider increasing the limit,” the bank’s press service told Denga. At the same time, the share of approved loan applications at the bank has decreased and is now only 15%.

In addition to interest rates, some banks have increased commissions. The changes affected such tariff components as commissions for SMS banking, card issuance and maintenance, and cash withdrawals. For example, Alfa Bank this year increased the commission for cash withdrawals to 6.9% (minimum 500 rubles). At MDM Bank, the commission increased to 7.9% at “native” ATMs and cash desks (minimum 700 rubles), at devices of other banks - to 8.9%. In addition, some banks are reducing previously approved credit limits.

The increase in fees for withdrawing money from ATMs, as well as the growing financial literacy of citizens, lead to the fact that credit cards are used less and less to withdraw cash. “The trend we see is a shift in attitude towards credit cards on the part of clients,” says Valery Torkhov, Chairman of the Board of Avangard Bank. “A credit card is a 2-in-1 product: simultaneously access to consumer credit and a means of payment. Now the number of clients using a credit card to receive cash has decreased. As a result, the overall ratio has changed slightly towards those who use a credit card for payments. In the group of non-problem clients, there are also more those who use a credit card as a means of payment and enjoy the grace period."

By reducing the number of credit cards issued, bankers are simultaneously striving to simplify product lines. “As a rule, ordinary (simple) cards remain in the line, which are often positioned as a tool for receiving cash,” says Pavel Belyaev. “In addition, banks are promoting cards with loyalty programs (points), as well as cards for travelers. The market is gradually the number of co-brands is being reduced—these cards are being replaced by more universal products, usually with point-based loyalty mechanisms.”

A card is not a horse - you'll be lucky in the morning

Despite the difficult situation in the credit card market, bankers note that it is still far from saturation. “Unlike other segments of consumer lending (car loans or mortgages), this segment does not require long-term funding of several years, does not depend on any particular category of goods, and consumers here are not so sensitive to the rate level. Already in 2016, we expect resumption of sustainable growth,” says Alexey Kreitor. “We still assess the current trends as a component of more global crisis processes in the Russian economy, which sooner or later must be overcome,” says Nikolai Volosevich. “In a normal economic situation, credit cards should be an important tool for stimulating consumer demand, so there is interest in The product will remain with both banks and borrowers. Until the end of 2015, one should not expect a significant increase in loans or rapid portfolio growth.”

The prospects for the card market are also confirmed by recent data from the National Agency for Financial Research (NAFI). According to his estimates, 24% of Russians do not have a single bank card. However, citizens are gradually realizing how convenient this tool is, and this share will decrease. About a third of Russians have several bank cards - as a rule, these are people with higher education, aged 25 to 44 years. “The penetration of POS terminals through which you can pay with a card is constantly growing, which, of course, only increases the possibilities of using cards,” says Alexey Shchavelev. “From the point of view of portfolio management, cards are the most attractive for banks, since there are many ways to adjust the result after the loan is issued, this includes limit management, various incentive campaigns, etc.”

World experience shows that card players do well in times of crisis and then demonstrate rapid recovery and growth. “Referring to the experience of the United States, one can see that the margins of card banks are on average higher than those of other commercial banks,” points out Alexey Shchavelev. “Therefore, in combination with greater manageability, good stress resistance, a certain inelasticity of demand in terms of price and the potential for extensive growth “It is precisely this market segment that will be the most tasty and interesting piece for banks in our country in the medium term.”

Testing plastic for strength