Alfa-Bank analyst says Retail Lending Priority shifted to Mortgage and Credit Cards in the First Half of 2006

Natalia Orlova, chief economist and macroeconomic and banking researcher at Alfa-Bank, noted demand seemed to be shifted to credit cards, which posted a 300% YTD increase. Mortgage growth also accelerated, driving the market to a total of $6.2 billion. “The list of market leaders has changed substantially. In the coming 12 months we expect Russian banks will be focused on mortgage and credit cards”, said Orlova.

Research report «Retail Lending 1H06: Shifting to Mortgage», by Natalia Orlova, 59.9 KB.

Natalia Orlova, chief economist at Alfa-Bank, joined the bank in 1998. She is also editor-in-chief of the Alfa Bank Investor Confidence Index, a monthly research publication. She frequently participates in research round tables and speaks at economic conferences focused on Russia and emerging markets. She graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in mathematics and from France’s Clermont-Ferrand University with a diploma in macroeconomics.

Latest News Detsky Mir and MBRD co-project ORGRESBANK INSTALLED ATMs in MEGA Trading Centers Absolut Bank doubles its plastic card portfolio MBRD Changes Tariffs on Banking Cards Barclaycard to give away an Aston Martin as a partner of the new James Bond film, QUANTUM OF SOLACE New tariffs on issuing and maintenance of "VISA VIRTUON PAYMENT BANK CARD" Alfa-Bank offer its customers the opportunity to order bank cards depicting an image of their choice. MasterCard PayPass Enters Russia The number of bank cards issued by the Bank of Moscow tops the 10 million mark BANK PLATINA introduced the new Tariffs for "BANK PLATINA - VISA"

In St Petersburg a special action of BSGV and ZAO Land, premium class retail network, is held According to the conditions of the action, Land “Gold” discount card holders, who address for the first time to any BSGV branch in St Petersburg, can get 50% discount on the standard annual service fee for "Prestige" package for the first year or/and 50% discount on the issuance fee for a loan. The discount doesn’t cover the issuance fee for mortgage loans. [Read...]