MOSCOW, June 22Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law limiting the use of floating rates on loans to households and microenterprises from September 1 of this year. The corresponding document is posted on the website of the official publication of legal acts.
The purpose of the law is to limit the risks of individuals and micro-enterprises on loans with variable rates, the chairman of the Duma Committee on the Financial Market, Anatoly Aksakov, previously explained. Often, due to changes in the market situation, including an increase in the key rate of the Central Bank, banks and microfinance organizations can increase interest on existing loans, if this is provided for in the agreement, he noted. 
The document allows issuing consumer loans with a variable rate to citizens only in two cases. Firstly, if the mortgage loan was issued for a period of no more than 20 years and in the amount of 200 to 1000 average monthly salaries. In this case, the rate can be changed by a maximum of a third, but not more than 4 percentage points. Secondly, if a regular consumer loan is issued for an amount exceeding 200 times the average monthly salary. At the same time, there are no restrictions on the period for which the loan is issued and on changes in the rate.
The law also limits the size of changes in floating rates on loans to microenterprises. For them, the rate can be changed in the same way as for loans to individuals: by a maximum of a third, but not more than 4 percentage points. Moreover, the creditor will have to notify the micro-enterprise or individual about this no later than 15 days before the start of application of the changed rate.
Micro-enterprises and citizens, in the event of an increase in the rate, will be able, within three months from the date of such a change, to demand from the lender to increase the repayment period of the loan or loan. However, the period for which it is increased cannot exceed the original period by more than one quarter and be more than four years. The creditor is obliged to consider such a request within five working days. During the credit holiday period, an individual borrower does not have the right to contact the lender with such a requirement.
These innovations will not apply to loans to micro-enterprises operating in industries defined by the Russian government. They will also not apply to loans received by microenterprises under state programs that provide budget subsidies to creditors to compensate for lost income on loans. They will not apply to loans provided to micro-enterprises under guarantees or sureties from VEB, the SME Corporation, and lending assistance funds.