MOSCOW, March 21The state debt of the regions of Russia at the beginning of 2022 amounted to 2.5 trillion rubles, the figures increased by 5.2% compared to 2017, according to the materials of the Accounts Chamber based on the results of an audit of the use of federal budget loans provided to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2017-2021, on the example of seven regions.
“At the beginning of 2022, the volume of public debt of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation increased by 5.2% compared to 2017 and amounted to 2.5 trillion rubles. — by 6.2 times, in the Moscow region — by 2.7 times and in the Sverdlovsk region — by 37.8%.In the Novgorod region, the republics of Tatarstan and Sakha (Yakutia), the increase in debt amounted to At the same time, the state debt in the Irkutsk region decreased by 24%,» said Alexei Savatyugin, auditor of the Accounts Chamber, whose words are quoted in the materials.
According to the department, in total, in 2017-2021, the checked regions received loans from the federal budget in the amount of more than 896 billion rubles. The regions were also provided with treasury loans (to replenish the balance of funds in the budget account) in the amount of 2.2 trillion rubles, according to the Accounts Chamber.
During the audit, the auditors noted that the regions mainly used the loans provided to pay off debt obligations (more than 50%) and pay current expenses (more than 47%). At the same time, the share of budget loans allocated for investment purposes was extremely insignificant. The exception, according to the auditors, was St. Petersburg, where more than 63% of the loans provided from the federal budget were used for investment purposes.
However, during the audit, shortcomings were also found. For example, the auditors noted that the regions did not comply with the limits on borrowings established by the Budget Code. In addition, the Accounts Chamber noted that certain regions did not comply with the terms of agreements on the provision of budget loans in terms of achieving the established planned values of indicators.
«Failure to comply with the terms of the agreements led to the early repayment of budget loans by the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) totaling 3.3 billion rubles, by the Novgorod region — 0.5 billion rubles, by the Sverdlovsk region — 0.9 billion rubles,» Savatyugin said.
Among the shortcomings and violations, the Accounts Chamber also noted the practice of attracting market borrowings in the presence of significant balances in the accounts of regional budgets — as a result, such borrowings led to unreasonable the cost of their maintenance. A similar situation was noted by the auditors in terms of treasury loans.
«»Regulatory legal acts regulating the procedure for their provision do not contain restrictions on obtaining a loan depending on the balance of funds and upcoming expenses of the regional budget, and also do not limit the attraction of market borrowings with an unused limit on treasury loans. As a result, the regions conduct economically unjustified operations» , the department says.
In the report, the Accounts Chamber noted that the provision of budget loans to the regions ensured a reduction in the cost of servicing the public debt of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, but did not lead to a decrease in its volume and a decrease in the debt burden on the regional budget.
Also, based on the results of the audit, the agency prepared a number of proposals aimed at improving legislation in the field of government borrowing, including recommended that the government establish restrictions on market borrowing by a constituent entity of the Russian Federation in the presence of significant balances of funds on a single account of the regional budget and an unused limit on attracting treasury loans. The auditors also recommended sending a letter to the government with a proposal to instruct the Russian Ministry of Finance to prepare the relevant proposals by October 1, 2023.
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