Bankruptcy moratorium for individuals will remain in force

The authorities did not support the initiative of the Central Bank to suspend the effects of the bankruptcy moratorium on individuals.  Despite the banking lobby, the Cabinet of Ministers considered the idea unpopular.  At the same time, the ministers made a decision to support the selective reforms of the current version of moratorium.

As Interfax reported, citing its own sources, the regulator admitted the possibility that the ban on insolvency at the request of creditors for individuals, established from April 1, 2022, could be lifted. The source was a letter sent by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation to the Ministry of Economic Development.

Earlier, the banking structures of the country (Alfa-Bank, VTB and Sberbank) opposed the moratorium for individuals. Back in April, they sent an appeal to the legal department of the head of state.

In it, credit institutions asked not to freeze the execution of proceedings on debts that arose before April 1.

According to banks, this may delay the process of collecting funds from unscrupulous citizens. Representatives of the tax authorities also announced a similar idea, considering the suspension of debt collection inappropriate.

According to the calculations of the banks, the restrictive bankruptcy measures that the authorities introduced for individuals this year will cause damage amounting to 31 billion rubles. Sberbank could lose about 20 billion rubles on this, 7 billion more may be lost by VTB and about 4 billion by Alfa-Bank.

However, federal officials decided not to take risks with the suspension of the moratorium, which was previously included in the list of social support measures. The removal of all the individuals from the moratorium can destabilize the current situation, thereby nullifying the results of the measures taken. At the same time, the government considered the idea to establish a balance in the operation of the bankruptcy mechanism for individuals, taking into account the opinion of credit institutions and other market participants.