Updated
Updated · The Moscow Times · Aug 19
Moscow Credit Bank’s Overdue Loans Hit $3.27 Billion as Bad-Debt Ratio Reaches 14.8%
Updated
Updated · The Moscow Times · Aug 19

Moscow Credit Bank’s Overdue Loans Hit $3.27 Billion as Bad-Debt Ratio Reaches 14.8%

2 articles · Updated · The Moscow Times · Aug 19

Summary

  • 277 billion rubles in overdue loans had piled up at Moscow Credit Bank by July, leaving missed payments equal to 14.8% of its loan book—about five times the Russian banking sector average.
  • The deterioration has been rapid: overdue debt jumped 1,716% from a year earlier, rising from 15 billion rubles last August to 160 billion by December and another 117 billion rubles through July.
  • High interest rates and a slowing economy are squeezing borrowers, with Russia’s central bank saying metals, coal, construction and real estate companies have recently sought loan restructurings.
  • MKB, one of Russia’s 10 largest banks and deemed systemically important, had already faced scrutiny after a central bank inspection last year and a management shake-up; its controlling owner changed in summer 2026 without disclosure.
  • The bank’s stress fits a wider pattern: Russia’s central bank says 36 trillion rubles in loans may face debt-servicing trouble, while problem loans across the system reached 11.6% of total lending.

Insights

With bad loans surging over 1,700%, is Moscow Credit Bank the first domino in a hidden Russian financial collapse?
Can Rosneft's massive financial lifeline save a critical Russian bank before its billion-dollar debt hole triggers systemic ruin?