Loans return, but interest rates double

Debtors will have to overpay a half of the sum they borrow from a bank.

In addition to a 30% duty on the purchase of foreign currency imposed in December, the National Bank recommended banks not to issue loans to stabilise the situation on the financial market, Komsomolskaya Pravda v Belarusi reports.

The measure was supposed to restrict the growth of money supply and increase the value of money. As a result, Belarusians have not been able to take loans from banks for a month. The recommendation is valid until February 1. The National Bank does not plan to extend it. Commercial bank began to issue loans again, but raised interest rates. The cheapest loan has an interest rate of 45%, the most expensive one – 82%.

Average interests rates are now from 60 to 65% against 25-30% in early December.

Let's assume that you want to borrow 10 million for one year. If you take a loan with a low interest rate of 45%, you will have to pay the bank around 1.2 million rubles a month, which gives a total of 4.5 million a year. If you choose the highest interest rate of 82%, you will have to pay 1.5 million a month, or 8.2 a year.