Reduce the loan repayment amount. Reducing the monthly loan payment

The population's debt to banks continues to grow. According to Rosstat, the amount of overdue accounts payable at the end of November 2017 amounted to 2.7 trillion rubles. (for 11 months of 2016 – 2.6 trillion rubles). That is, more and more borrowers find themselves unable to pay monthly loan payments. This was also repeatedly reported by representatives of the professional community, including. However, not all banks tell borrowers that there are ways to reduce the monthly loan payment. The GARANT.RU portal, with the help of attracted experts, figured out how to reduce the monthly loan payment.

First of all, experts note that it is advisable to think about reducing loan payments if more than 40% of the family budget is spent monthly on debt servicing or the borrower’s income has significantly decreased due to certain unforeseen events. At the same time, according to the expert of the project "Financial Health" LLC "Academy of Personal Finance", consultant to the Project of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Ph.D. n. Elena Potapova, banks do not meet all borrowers halfway, but, as a rule, only those who have a good credit history, that is, there is no delay in repaying the loan. “If you cannot make the next payment in full, you need to contact the bank with a corresponding application before the deadline for the next payment,” she explained.

So, let’s take a closer look at the most effective ways to reduce loan payments that individual borrowers can use.

Interest rate reduction

Application review period: at least 30 days from the date the borrower contacts the bank.

Since interest rates on loans set by Bank of Russia banks are gradually decreasing, borrowers need to constantly monitor these changes on the lender’s website. And if the bank began to offer loans to new clients on more favorable terms, then experts in this case recommend contacting the management of the credit institution with an application to reduce the rate. “Naturally, banks are not happy with such statements, but they lower rates, since for them it is more profitable than losing a client who can repay the debt early using the financial resources of another creditor,” notes the managing partner of Dzotov, Porvatkin and Partners. Vladislav Porvatkin.

Let us recall that a unilateral reduction of the constant interest rate, as well as a change in the general terms of the consumer loan agreement, provided that this does not entail the emergence of new or an increase in the size of existing monetary obligations of the borrower, is the right of the lender, and not an obligation (; hereinafter referred to as the law about consumer credit).

At the same time, according to Porvatkin, it is possible in practice to reduce the interest rate, as a rule, only on mortgages. Indeed, it is quite difficult to find information that the bank is offering borrowers to reduce the interest rate on a consumer loan, as well as on a mortgage. For example, only on the website of one bank, included in the TOP 10 banks, we were able to familiarize ourselves with detailed instructions addressed to its mortgage borrowers on the procedure for applying for a reduction in interest rates on existing mortgage loans.

As a representative of the Sberbank press service said: Anna Morozova, the bank’s positive decision is primarily influenced by the following factors: the applicant has no overdue debt, the term of the current loan must be at least 12 months from the date of issue and the loan balance must be at least 500 thousand rubles. In addition, the loan must not have previously been subject to a restructuring procedure. We would like to add that you can fill out the application on the credit institution’s website. The bank will review the application and make a decision on reducing the rate within at least 30 days after submitting the application. At the same time, the head of the company "Judicial Bureau Gulko" Alexander Gulko believes that in practice, consideration of an application usually takes longer - about 1.5 months.

We also add that banks are not required to justify any decision: positive or negative. “Reducing interest is the right of the bank, and not its obligation. The borrower signed an agreement in which the amount of interest is specified, therefore, seeking to reduce interest through the court is almost a losing proposition. At least, I am not aware of positive examples today,” explained Vladislav Porvatkin.

However, it is worth noting that the terms of the agreement can be changed by the court if there is a significant change in the circumstances under which the agreement was concluded. It is considered significant when circumstances have changed so much that, if the parties could have reasonably foreseen this, the contract would not have been concluded by them at all or would have been concluded on significantly different terms ().

However, according to the senior legal adviser of the company "My Family Lawyer" Daria Kashleva, judicial practice in most cases is negative for borrowers, since the courts proceed from the fact that the relationship between the bank and the borrower is bilateral. The judges believe that all issues related to changing the terms of the contract should be resolved by the parties by mutual agreement (). “In the Russian Federation, the principles of freedom and voluntariness of the contract apply, therefore, in their decisions, the courts indicate that when concluding a loan agreement, the borrower understood what he was agreeing to, saw the interest rate on the loan, and no one forced him to enter into an agreement with this particular bank on the terms , which he currently considers unprofitable for himself,” she explained. At the same time, as the expert said, the borrower and the bank quite often come to a settlement agreement in court. “This can be explained by the fact that we have a system of market relations in our country, and the applicant has a huge choice of offers from banks with a more favorable interest rate. Consequently, the bank, in order not to lose a client, is considering the option of revising the terms of the loan, which is stated in ultimately in a settlement agreement with the borrower,” the expert concluded.

Thus, if the borrower decides to contact the bank with a request to reduce the interest rate on the loan, experts recommend following three rules:

1. Contact the bank only when the interest rate on loans on the market has dropped significantly. That is, when the borrower took out a mortgage, for example, in 2013 at 12% per annum, and in 2018 banks, including the borrower’s bank, offer a mortgage at 9.5% per annum.
2. An application to the bank to reduce the interest rate must be competently justified, noting, first of all, the situation in the financial services market, and not the desire to reduce the size of the monthly payment. For example, you can use the following wording: “I ask you to reduce the interest rate on the loan agreement under which I am a borrower, in connection with the reduction of the Bank of Russia.”
3. When contacting a bank, we recommend that you attach commercial offers from other banks that offer more favorable lending conditions. Then the bank will need to decide: either reduce the borrower’s interest rate on the loan and lose part of the profit, or lose a client who can refinance to another bank.

Loan refinancing

Application review period: at least 5 days from the date the borrower contacts the bank.

If the bank refuses to reduce the rate to the borrower, then he should try this method of reducing loan payments, such as refinancing. To do this, you need to apply to another bank for a new loan in order to repay the loan on more favorable terms. This can be done even at the same bank where the original loan was taken out. Elena Potapova recommends that before starting to search and analyze bank offers for refinancing, you take into account a number of requirements that lenders may put forward not only to borrowers, but also to loans. “So, some banks may refuse to refinance loans to individual entrepreneurs, lawyers who have established their own office, and business owners,” the expert noted. “In addition, banks are interested primarily in bona fide borrowers and large loans. Thus, many banks set a minimum amount loan debt for refinancing – 500 thousand rubles.”

According to Alexey Podvigin, head of the product and analytics department of DeltaCredit Commercial Bank JSC, the most popular program at the bank is mortgage refinancing. “Now, for the most part, clients who took out a mortgage in the first half of 2015 are receiving refinancing. Then the average rate for this type of loan was 14% per annum. In July 2017, it dropped to 10.94%,” he noted. At our bank, 73.8% of refinancing applications are approved.

So, to begin the refinancing procedure, you need to collect a package of documents and submit them to the bank. As a rule, this may require the last 3-6 months (depending on the bank), a certificate of income in the bank’s form, or management statements and account statements for business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as a completed application form, a passport and a copy of the work record certified by the HR department. . In addition, the bank may ask you to insure real estate that was purchased with a mortgage (since real estate insurance is usually issued every year and is needed throughout the entire mortgage repayment period, it is necessary to provide insurance for the loan period subsequent to refinancing). “Voluntary insurance is not required for a mortgage, but it directly affects the final amount of the assigned overpayment,” Podvigin explained. “Before making a decision on refinancing, it is recommended to carefully calculate everything.” Indeed, renewing the contract entails a number of additional costs, including assessing the property, purchasing a new insurance policy, etc. “Any additional costs that arise are paid by the borrower himself. Thus, tangible benefits can only be obtained if if there is a difference in the interest rate by at least two percentage points,” Alexey Podvigin is convinced.

Is the material benefit from saving on interest when obtaining credits (loans) subject to personal income tax? Find out from the material "Personal income tax on material benefits from saving on interest when obtaining credits (loans)" in "Encyclopedia of solutions. Taxes and fees" Internet version of the GARANT system. Get full access for 3 days for free!

When refinancing a loan, you should take into account some possible pitfalls. “There are certain nuances in the design technique for this scheme, just as there are questions about assessing the profitability of such a solution. Not all banks that have an “on-lending” product are ready to issue loans to borrowers before registering an apartment as collateral in favor of these organizations,” the presenter noted lawyer at the European Legal Service Elena Derzhieva. Thus, it is possible that in order to refinance a mortgage, it will be necessary to pay off the mortgage loan at your own expense in order to remove the collateral from the apartment, and then get a new loan. That is, the question arises: where can a borrower find “own funds” to pay off the original mortgage loan? In addition, in addition to technical problems, it is important to determine whether refinancing will be beneficial for the borrower. “Sometimes, when the rate is reduced by 0.5-1%, it makes no sense to carry out a complex refinancing procedure. It should be borne in mind that when refinancing you will have to go through the full procedure of obtaining a loan from a new lender, with filling out questionnaires, checking income, and the subject of the mortgage. That is in fact, the new lender must carry out the loan approval procedure,” added Elena Derzhieva.

Elena Potapova also noted a number of problems that a borrower may encounter. Firstly, she recalled that when the “new” bank transfers funds to repay the loan, this does not mean that the debt is closed. “The funds will remain in the account until the client submits an application for early repayment. And in many banks, this application must be sent some time before the planned date of early repayment. For example, the wording in the loan agreement may sound like “no less than 10 days before the payment date or 30 days before any other early repayment date." To avoid a situation where the borrower will have to pay for both the old refinanced loan and the new loan for some time, we recommend preparing for this in advance and taking into account the repayment terms, thereby reducing the most expenses,” she explained.

Secondly, Elena Potapova said that some banks set an increased rate for new clients for a certain period (most often the rate increases by 1%), which will be valid until they terminate relations with the previous bank. For example, until the mortgage is lifted. And finally, the expert draws attention to the need for the borrower, before taking out a new loan, to clarify information about additional commissions and other expenses that may arise during the transaction. “Additional costs can make a new loan even more unprofitable than the previous one,” she said.

Let us also recall that if the borrower plans to change not only the interest rate, but also other conditions, for example, to increase the terms of the loan agreement as a result of refinancing, it must be taken into account that this will lead to an increase in overpayments for using the loan.

Debt restructuring

Application review period: no more than 5 business days from the date the borrower contacts the bank.

One of the most common ways to reduce your monthly loan payment is through restructuring. “If you lose the opportunity to repay the loan, do not delay and immediately report the current situation to the bank and try to negotiate a debt restructuring,” GARANT.RU recommends to readers of the portal Natalya Kolbasina, member of the “Financial Health” project of the Academy of Personal Finance LLC and consultant-methodologist for financial literacy of the Russian Ministry of Finance Project.

Thus, the bank can offer a number of ways to solve the problem of a bona fide borrower. For example, one of the loan restructuring options is “payment holidays,” during which the borrower does not make payments on the loan or only pays interest on the debt. The bank may also offer to increase the loan term - its extension. In this case, the monthly payment is reduced. In addition, based on the borrower’s request, the bank can change the payment currency, refuse to collect penalties, penalties, and provide individual conditions agreed upon by the lender and the borrower (). In other words, restructuring involves the conclusion of an agreement between the bank and the borrower, according to which the original terms of the loan agreement are changed.

The procedure for restructuring a loan debt is not mandatory for the bank and is not enshrined in any regulations. Therefore, a financial institution has the right to refuse a borrower who has made such a request. According to Natalya Kolbasina, almost all large banks in Russia are willing to help their clients who find themselves in difficult life situations. However, restructuring is a temporary measure, therefore, when concluding a restructuring agreement, it is worth considering that in the event of a delay in repaying the loan under the new conditions, the bank has the right to cancel, for example, “payment holidays” and demand that the client repay the entire amount of the debt in full.

In order to restructure the debt, the borrower must submit an application and documents to the bank confirming that the applicant is in a difficult financial situation. For example, if you lose your job, you must provide a document confirming registration with the employment service or a copy of your work book indicating the grounds for dismissal (for example, at the initiative of the employer as a result of layoffs); in the case of a long-term illness - a certificate of illness; if your financial situation worsens. work – confirming a reduction in wages, etc. “When considering the application, the bank pays attention to the reasons that do not allow the borrower to pay the loan (sharp reduction in income, dismissal at the initiative of the employer (liquidation of the organization, etc.), confirmed by documents. In addition, an important condition for making a positive decision is the absence of a history of restructuring or refinancing of the loan,” noted Natalya Kolbasina. The period for consideration of the application usually does not exceed 5 working days. The agreement reached with the bank is formalized in an agreement that sets out the restructuring scheme. However, not It is worth remembering that the credit institution reserves the right to make both positive and negative decisions. “If the bank refuses to restructure, it makes sense to ask for a written refusal indicating the reason. This can help in the legal process. For the court, the bank’s official refusal is proof of your desire to find a compromise with the bank,” the expert suggests.

Other ways

Another way to reduce your monthly payment is to switch to a differentiated repayment schedule. It is known that the amount of overpayment depends not only on the interest rate and the period for which the agreement is concluded, but also on what method of calculating interest on the loan is determined and what the repayment scheme is. Therefore, borrowers need to have a good understanding of the differences between so-called differentiated and annuity payments in order to understand how to optimize the costs associated with lending.

So, when repaying a loan with annuity payments, the borrower pays the same amount every month. However, at the beginning of the loan term, the borrower pays mainly interest, while the body of the loan is almost never repaid. That is, interest is accrued for several years on an almost constant amount of the balance, which makes using the loan significantly more expensive. When repaying a loan with differentiated payments, the amount of the principal debt is divided by the number of months in the loan term. In this case, the borrower monthly repays one such share of the loan body and the interest accrued on the balance of the debt. Since interest after each repayment is accrued on a smaller amount of the principal debt, accordingly, the overpayment on interest will be less. However, as experts say, now there are practically no banks left offering loans with differentiated payments; basically, everyone offers a “more expensive” option. At the same time, Elena Potapova recommends always checking with the bank about the possibility of concluding a loan agreement with the condition of repaying the loan in differentiated payments. But a financial institution has the right to refuse a borrower who has made such a request. Let us recall that previously State Duma deputy Andrey Baryshev offered to provide consumers with .

Some experts suggest early repayment of the loan as one of the ways to save on interest payments. If you pay a larger amount each month compared to the minimum payment stipulated in the agreement (when this does not contradict the loan agreement), then as the principal debt decreases, interest payments for using the loan also decrease. In this case, with partial early repayment, the borrower can decide either to shorten the loan term or to reduce the monthly payment. These cases must be specified in the loan agreement. Both options allow you to reduce the amount of interest paid, giving you the opportunity to save on overpayments. However, according to the head of the department of “Housing Mortgage Lending and Insurance” of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, professor, Doctor of Economics. n. Alexandra Tsyganova, when contacting your bank with a request for early repayment of a loan, it is worth calculating in advance what is of greater interest to the consumer in each specific case: reducing the monthly payment or reducing the loan term. “The latter may be more profitable, as it will reduce the total amount of loan payments,” the expert believes.

Experts note that early repayment of a loan with annuity payments is economically beneficial only in the first half of the term, since if the loan term has already “exceeded” half, then there is no point in repaying the loan early, since the borrower has already paid almost all the interest for using the loan. If the payments are differentiated, which means the borrower pays mainly the body of the loan at the beginning of the loan term, then early repayment is beneficial at any time.

You can pay off your mortgage early, for example, through a tax deduction (). Let us remind you that according to the law, the amount from which a tax deduction of 13% is refunded must not exceed 2 million rubles. (). Thus, the buyer of an apartment can return no more than 260 thousand rubles on this basis. and use them to partially repay the loan. In addition, after paying interest to the bank, you can return another 13% of their amount, but not exceeding 3 million rubles. That is, the borrower can return no more than 390 thousand rubles on this basis. for each year of loan payments ().

Maternity capital funds can also be used to pay off the mortgage early - contribute this amount to repay the principal debt and reduce the monthly payment; hereinafter referred to as the law on maternal capital). State certificates are issued once at the birth (adoption) of a second or subsequent child; their amount in 2018 is 453,026 rubles. ( , ). In most cases, you can apply for disposal of maternity capital only three years after the birth of your second child. However, you can use the mother’s certificate to repay an existing mortgage loan at any time from the moment the right to receive it arises (). Maternity capital funds can be used to repay the principal debt and pay interest on loans for the purchase (construction) of residential premises provided to citizens under a loan agreement concluded with a credit institution (clause 3 of the Rules for allocating funds (part of the funds) of maternity (family) capital to improve housing conditions).

Families in which starting . The benefit is provided to borrowers when receiving a loan from a bank or refinancing previously received mortgage loans for the purchase of housing on the primary market - the state will subsidize the payment of interest rates in excess of 6% (Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2017 No. 1711 “On approval of the Rules for the provision of subsidies from the federal budget to Russian credit organizations and the joint-stock company "Housing Mortgage Lending Agency" for compensation of lost income on issued (purchased) housing (mortgage) loans (loans) provided to citizens of the Russian Federation with children ").

To restructure the debt in accordance with the program, the borrower must submit a corresponding application to the bank. However, it must meet a number of conditions. Thus, the state provides assistance to citizens of Russia who have minor children or are their guardians (trustees), persons who are disabled or have disabled children, combat veterans, as well as citizens who are dependent on persons under the age of 24 studying in full-time education. In this case, the average monthly total income of the borrower’s family, calculated for the 3 months preceding the date of filing the application for restructuring, should not exceed twice the cost of living for the region of residence for each family member. In addition, the monthly loan payment must increase by at least 30% relative to its size at the time of concluding the loan agreement ().

So, now readers of the GARANT.RU portal know at least four ways to reduce the monthly loan payment. All that remains is to make a decision: choose the option that suits each case, evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages and act.

Money problems can arise for any of us. When accepting credit obligations, no one thinks about the bad, and most citizens honestly intend to pay and repay the debt in full. When financial problems have already arisen, some borrowers begin to wonder if it is possible to at least slightly reduce the interest on the existing loan.

Calculation of interest rates

To understand the process, you must first understand how exactly the bank calculates interest rates. There are usually three main factors taken into account:

1. Banking risks.

In any case, the banking structure understands that a certain percentage of clients will not repay the debt. If a particular borrower provides fewer documents, especially papers confirming his solvency, he will be offered an inflated interest rate.

2. Lending period.

If the borrower wants to get a loan for a long term, the bank runs the risk of not receiving borrowed funds due to illness, disability, dismissal from work, and finally the death of the client. All loan agreements with a loan term of less than 3 years are concluded at a lower interest rate.

3. Key rates of the Central Bank of Russia.

These are factors that clients cannot influence. But it is precisely for financial structures that they are most important.

Taking into account all the above factors, banks may increase interest rates on a case-by-case basis depending on the period for which the loan is issued and the financial situation of the client. Late payments also affect interest rates. If the borrower wants to influence the amount of interest payments, one of the options may be to go to court.

Judicial procedure for reducing interest rates on loans

A large number of debtors are thinking about how to reduce payments or completely eliminate interest on existing loans. The first thing that needs to be said is that it is impossible to completely cancel interest on using a loan. This would break the whole essence of banking relations. Interest represents the profit of financial institutions, from which they exist. This is a kind of fee for the borrower’s use of bank funds.

What then can be canceled by a court decision? For example, penalties for termination of a loan agreement or improper fulfillment by the client of his obligations. This procedure is quite complicated. It is also possible to lower loan interest rates. Typically, this measure is used by lawyers if the bank decides to sue a citizen due to non-payment of debts.

The borrower will be required to provide the court with evidence that the credit institution slightly inflated the interest rates for using a bank loan in his particular case. The court will carefully consider the materials presented to it, and if the interest rate is really too high, the bank will be prohibited from charging such a high interest from the debtor. However, the borrower will be required to pay interest at the new established refinancing rates.

In practice, situations arise when a judge, when studying a banking agreement, can qualify it as an adhesion agreement. What does it mean? One of the parties to the contract has prescribed certain conditions, such as additional payments and services that are unnecessary for the client. And the second party could not refuse them only because they were written down as mandatory conditions, without which the entire agreement could not be signed.

Such agreements actually violate the rights of the client (the joining party). During the trial, the bank will be obliged by the court to change the terms of the agreement and lower the interest rates on the loan.

Pre-trial methods of reducing interest rates

A deceived client may not wait until the matter comes to trial, but try to resolve all issues with the bank peacefully. There are 3 absolutely legal methods that can reduce interest on existing loans:

1. Debt restructuring.

2. Loan refinancing.

3. Repay the loan before the end of the term.

The first method is considered the most effective. Bank employees can put themselves in the client’s position if the client informs them in a timely manner about the financial difficulties that have arisen. Then it is possible for the debtor to revise the payment schedule or provide special “holidays” on the loan. However, there must be really serious reasons for this. For example, deprivation of earnings and problems finding a suitable job, serious illness confirmed by medical certificates.

Refinancing involves obtaining a new loan on more favorable terms for the client than the old one. At the same time, you should avoid pitfalls and carefully study the conditions offered by the bank. For example, the borrower is often required to insure his life. You should not agree to such additional services, because then refinancing will not make sense, and no savings will be observed.

An unstable economy, rising inflation, job cuts and a decline in living standards mean that people who have assumed obligations under a loan agreement are no longer able to fulfill them.

This leads to a violation of the terms of the contract, and according to statistics, more than 20% of borrowers are already unable to pay monthly loan payments.

In modern conditions, you can try to reduce the monthly loan payment, this is beneficial for both the bank and the borrower.

Is it possible to reduce

If financial difficulties arise, it is possible to reduce monthly payments. To do this, you need to contact the bank with an application.

However, it is worth noting that financial institutions only accommodate those borrowers who have an ideal credit history, i.e. There were no delays in loan repayments.

If you cannot make the next payment in full, you must contact the bank with a corresponding application before the deadline for the next payment.

In addition, to make a positive decision, you need objective reasons that are documented. Such reasons may be:

• salary reduction (confirmed by a certificate from the place of employment);
• dismissal from work (which is confirmed by an entry in the work book);
• illness or temporary disability (confirmed by a certificate from the hospital).

These reasons do not depend on the actions of the borrower and provide grounds for the creditor bank to make a decision in favor of reducing monthly payments.

This right is exercised in several ways;

• reduction in interest rates;
• early repayment of the loan ahead of schedule.

Let's take a closer look at the most common ones.

Bank loan refinancing

Refinancing is the opportunity to repay a loan from another bank or financial institution on terms more favorable to the borrower. This can also be done at the same bank from which the original loan was taken.

The procedure works because a new loan can be taken out with a lower interest rate, lower monthly repayment amounts or a longer loan term, which also reduces the monthly payment amount.

Often such offers are available from the same bank where the loan was taken out. But it happens that financial institutions themselves offer more favorable conditions for refinancing third-party loans.

However, there are also side effects to debt refinancing. An example would be a car loan.

When refinancing the remaining amount of debt on such a loan, it will be impossible to issue a CASCO insurance policy for the car. This happens when such a loan is refinanced using a consumer loan.

The opportunity to reduce monthly payments is given only to those borrowers who have no overdue payments, otherwise banks are very reluctant to agree to the refinancing procedure.

In addition, it should be taken into account that during this procedure, a new loan will be issued against real estate or a car, which is also not suitable for everyone. You can take advantage of another opportunity.

Restructuring of a loan taken out

Restructuring involves the conclusion of an agreement between the creditor bank and the borrower, according to which the original terms of the loan agreement are changed. The bank can change them as follows:

• reduce the monthly repayment amount;
• increase the debt repayment period to 10 years by reducing the interest rate;
• diversify the payment (for example, pay only interest on the loan for some time). This measure is temporary.

However, it should also be taken into account that the borrower ends up paying an even larger amount in interest.

Restructuring, like refinancing, is provided by the bank only if there are no overdue payments in the borrower’s credit history.

Otherwise, financial institutions very rarely cooperate. Therefore, it is extremely important to contact the bank with a request for debt restructuring before the monthly repayment period has already passed.

Another point that is worth paying attention to is that the bank, in case of delay in repaying the loan under the new conditions, has the right to demand that the client repay the entire amount of the debt in full.

In this case, the financial institution sends a Final Request, which indicates the final repayment period for the loan debt.

Which banks are ready to carry out restructuring?

The procedure for restructuring a loan debt is not mandatory for the bank, and is not enshrined in law in any regulations. Therefore, a financial institution has every right to refuse a borrower who has made such a request.

But it is in the bank's interest to maintain the client's solvency, otherwise his debt to the financial institution appears unpaid, and the bank will lose not only the amount of interest on the loan, but also the entire balance of the loan issued if the borrower goes bankrupt.

Almost all major banks in the Russian Federation are willing to help their clients who find themselves in difficult life situations. In addition, large banks with government support insure such risks from the very beginning. These banks include:

• Gazprombank;
• Bank FC "Otkritie";
• Rosselkhozbank;
• Alfa Bank.

These banks were recognized as the most reliable according to the results of inspections by the Central Bank of Russia in 2016.

But in order to find out whether your financial institution provides such an opportunity to reduce monthly payments as restructuring, you need to submit a corresponding application directly to the bank itself.

Applying to the bank with a request

If any conditions arise that make it impossible to pay monthly loan payments in full, you must immediately contact the bank with a request to reduce the interest rate, without waiting for the payment to become overdue.

Then the chances of success will be significantly reduced.

When applying, you need to prepare the following documents:

• a written request for debt restructuring, where it is necessary to indicate the reasons why payments in full are impossible;
• passport;
• documents related to the conclusion of a loan agreement and confirming payments;
• documents related to confirmation of conditions that prevent repayment of the debt in the previous amount;
• other documents as required by the bank.

In the application, in addition to the reasons why monthly payments have become unbearable, you need to indicate your vision of solving the problem that has arisen, for example, reducing the interest rate.

If the bank does not agree to reduce monthly payments

If the bank refuses to restructure your credit debt, you can reduce your monthly payments by refinancing, taking out another loan on better terms and using it to pay off the first one.

You can also contact a financial institution with a request for a credit holiday. This will make it possible not to pay it for some time, until the circumstances preventing repayment disappear.

Another possibility would be to change the lending currency, which is important in case of sharp exchange rate fluctuations. If the loan is taken out in a foreign currency, you can request its conversion into ruble equivalent, however, in this case the interest rate increases. In this case, you need to calculate what will be a more profitable solution.

Loan repayment ahead of schedule

Another way to save on interest is to repay the loan early. If each month you pay an amount greater than necessary (when this does not contradict the loan agreement), then the bank will recalculate the interest, reducing either the monthly payments or the repayment period of the debt.

Both options will reduce the amount of interest, allowing you to save money.

Anyone can face a difficult financial situation in their life. This causes particular difficulties for people who have an existing loan. Is it possible to reduce the monthly payment and what if the bank does not make concessions?

In Russian lending practice, there are two ways to reduce monthly payments - restructuring and refinancing.

Restructuring

Restructuring involves changing the original terms of loan repayment. During restructuring, monthly payments are reduced due to the extension of the loan term. At the same time, the interest rate remains stable. The disadvantage of this option for the borrower is the increase in the amount of overpayment on the loan.

To restructure the loan, you must contact the bank with an application and provide documents confirming the impossibility of paying the loan according to the previous schedule. This is, for example, illness or dismissal from work.

It is important to contact the bank before the delay occurs, otherwise the likelihood of refusal to restructure increases significantly. Sometimes the bank provides “credit holidays” and allows you to temporarily pay only the interest on the loan or only the amount of the debt.

For example, at the Bank of Moscow it is possible to arrange a vacation for yourself or increase the loan term for consumer and car loans for up to 2 years, for mortgages - within a maximum period of up to 30 years. Raiffeisenbank offers to fill out an application for restructuring online.

But banks are not always ready to restructure loans, since fines and delays are their additional income. If the bank refuses, you can try to “refinance” with another bank or refinance the loan.

Refinancing

Refinancing allows you to get a loan from another bank on more favorable terms for the borrower. The goal may be to reduce the amount of monthly payments, the interest rate, or change the currency of the loan. The latter may be especially beneficial in the context of a strengthening ruble.

Today, up to 10% of the total lending volume comes from refinancing. Banks usually refinance loans with a maturity of more than 6 months. Sometimes the requirements include that loan payments must be made for at least a year. There are also restrictions on the debt balance - refinance a loan with a debt balance of less than 30 thousand rubles. will not work.

Mortgage refinancing

The most popular type of loan for refinancing is a mortgage. It only makes sense to refinance your mortgage before the five-year payment term is reached and if the principal balance is greater than 30%.

The fact is that in most banks, the payment schedule is drawn up in such a way that in the first years, mainly interest on the loan is repaid, and not the principal debt.

The borrower's benefit may consist of both a reduction in the loan burden and a reduction in the rate. So, several years ago mortgage rates were at the level of 18-20%, now they are 11-13%. Thus, even with an increase in the loan term, the amount of the overpayment may be lower.

The process for refinancing a mortgage is similar to getting a mortgage loan. The borrower is required to provide a complete package of documents:

• application form for refinancing;
• passports of the borrower and co-borrower;
• documents confirming income;
• collateral documents.

The decision is made by the bank within 5-12 days. For banks, such loans are less risky than the original mortgage, so refusals are less common. The decision to refinance is influenced by the financial condition of the borrower, the absence of arrears, as well as the property itself.

We must not forget about the additional costs that will have to be faced when re-issuing a mortgage - they can reach up to 45 thousand rubles. This, in particular, is a commission for issuing a new loan, re-registration of a property, and concluding a new insurance contract.

Despite the benefits of refinancing your mortgage, there may be some complications that may arise. Thus, some loan agreements directly indicate a ban on refinancing, while others allow this to be done only for a fee to the former creditor.

But banks that provide loans as part of refinancing help the borrower in solving this problem. If the previous lender refuses, they transfer money at the expense of the borrower, who fully repays the previous loan and removes the encumbrance from the property.

1. Mortgage “Refinancing” from Alfa Bank
Loan amount: from 1 million rubles. up to 60 million rubles
Loan rate: from 12.2 – 14%

2. Mortgage “Refinancing of housing loans” from Sberbank
Loan amount: no more than the balance of the principal debt and 80% of the appraised value of the purchased home.
Loan term: from 5 years to 25 years
Loan rate: from 13.25 – 14.75%.

3. Mortgage “Refinancing” from Gazprombank
Loan amount: from 300 thousand rubles. up to 45 million rubles
Loan term: up to 30 years
Loan rate: from 12.45 – 13.75%.

In this case, banks, until the registration of a new pledge, either take a guarantee or additional pledge as security, or temporarily increase the loan rate by 1-3%.

A number of lenders, in order to retain a borrower who plans to resort to refinancing, offer the client to reduce interest rates.

Refinancing of consumer loans

Some banks provide the opportunity to refinance consumer loans and credit cards. The borrower, in addition to the standard package of documents, is required to provide a certificate of the refinanced loan (containing the number and date of the agreement, interest rate, amount of monthly payments, debt balance, etc.), as well as a certificate from the account opened for refinancing.

Such a loan is not issued directly to the borrower, but is transferred directly to his credit account.

1. Loan “Refinancing” from VTB24
Loan amount: from 30 thousand rubles. up to 1 million rubles
Duration: from 6-60 months.
Rates: from 15-25%.
Remaining term of the loan: at least 3 months.

2. Loan “Refinancing” from Rosselkhozbank
Loan amount: up to 1 million rubles.
Duration: up to 60 months.
Rates: from 18.5% (in the absence of insurance + 1.75%)

3. Loan “For refinancing external loans” from Sberbank
Sberbank is ready to refinance up to 5 loans at a time. These include consumer loans, car loans and credit cards.
Loan amount: from 15 to 1 million rubles.
Duration: up to 60 months.
Rates: from 17% to 25.5% (rate 17% for a period of up to a year in the amount of 150 thousand rubles)

Refinancing programs are also available at MDM Bank (rate from 14.5%, amount up to 750 thousand rubles), Rosbank (rate from 16.5-19.5%, amount up to 1.5 million rubles).

The Raiffeisenbank refinancing program allows you to purchase a new car, while the old one is handed over to a car dealership and the money for its sale is counted towards the first payment.

Today it is almost impossible to find a person who has not taken out a loan from a bank or any other financial institution. Regardless of the amount of money borrowed, many dream of paying off the institution as quickly as possible or at least getting a reduction in the interest rate on an existing mortgage or loan for the purchase of a car, equipment, etc. Is it possible to do this officially? Let's take a closer look at all the existing options.

Factors influencing overpayment

Before you figure out how to reduce the interest rate on a loan, it’s worth understanding the principle of overpayments. This will help answer many questions.

For example, it should be said right away that it will be quite difficult to significantly reduce the level of overpayment. The fact is that each bank has a minimum scale to which such a reduction is possible. Therefore, you need to rationally understand that when issuing loans, a financial organization expects to make a profit. Based on this, not a single financial institution will work at a loss.

However, there are a number of certain exceptions. One of them is programs. These are the most significant reasons for reducing the interest rate on a loan. In this case, the overpayment is compensated by the state. Accordingly, the bank can significantly lower the interest rate without harming itself.

Also, not everyone knows that the percentage of overpayments is regulated by the Central Bank. Therefore, there is a certain minimum threshold. However, the actual data received from the financial institution is rarely communicated to borrowers and bank clients.

Among other things, when talking about how to reduce the interest rate on a loan, you need to understand that when applying for a loan, the bank also takes into account the funds that will need to be paid to branch employees for servicing equipment in the offices of a financial institution, etc.

Risk factors and desired profit are also taken into account. The last point is also called the greed coefficient. It turns out that the possibility of lowering the rate depends on how loyal the bank is to its customers. According to statistics, we can conclude that even with the most serious approach to this issue, it is possible to reduce the loan rate by no more than 3-4 points. However, it all depends on the specific situation.

Any bank focuses on the economic situation in the country, as well as its own well-being. We can conclude that it is much easier to reduce overpayments in a financial institution that is stable. We are talking about large organizations that have been operating in the country for a long time. There are also other ways to reduce the interest rate on an existing loan.

Early loan repayment

This is the easiest way to reduce overpayments. However, it makes sense to try this method only if the borrower has an annuity payment and has not yet reached the halfway point in the payment period. For repayment, not only personal funds, but also savings funds of clients, as well as other possible instruments can be used. These include maternity capital. In this case, it is not necessary to wait until the child turns 3 years old, since the funds can be contributed towards the mortgage.

Refinancing

In this case, we are talking about another loan (from the same or a third-party bank) at a lower interest rate. This is especially true for those who signed a contract during a period when rates were especially high. For example, in 2017, interest rates on consumer loans are much lower. Accordingly, in this situation, refinancing is a fairly effective way to reduce overpayments. In other words, the borrower simply issues a new loan in the amount of the current debt. The amount remains the same, but the overpayment decreases.

New loan with different conditions

In fact, this is another type of refinancing. In this case, not only the interest rate changes, but also other conditions under the loan contract. For example, a client can refuse compulsory insurance or change the payment currency. However, it is worth considering that if you refuse insurance, interest rates, as a rule, on the contrary, increase.

Participation in special programs

In order to get a relatively cheap loan, you can consider the current social offers from the state. For example, many banks have a “Young Family” promotion. In this case, interest rates may be reduced for married couples in which the age of the spouses has not reached 35 years. If the consumer already has an existing loan, he can apply for a reduction in the interest rate on the loan in connection with joining this program.

Also today there is a military mortgage. This category of lending was specially designed for military personnel. In order to become a participant in this program, you must serve on a contract basis for at least 3 years. Then the country's Ministry of Defense is ready to compensate interest rates in the amount of 8 to 10%.

In addition, there are programs for young employees living in rural areas. In this case, clients of financial institutions will also enjoy quite favorable conditions for reducing interest rates on loans. For example, Rosselkhozbank has special programs according to which clients can purchase houses outside the city, provided that their work activities will be carried out in rural areas.

By credit card

Everyone knows that credit cards usually charge the highest interest rates, which can reach up to 59% per annum. In this case, in order to reduce the overpayment, there is no provision for contacting the bank. It will also be impossible to refinance the loan. This is because credit cards are a typical personalized financial institution product. By and large, there are no effective methods to reduce the interest rate on a loan in this case. The only way to at least slightly reduce the overpayment is to apply for credit benefits in advance. Or you can try to get another credit card with lower interest rates from the same or another bank.

How to reduce the interest rate on a loan at Sberbank

Most clients have more confidence in this credit institution. Today, you can get a loan from this bank at fairly low interest rates, which can be made even lower.

First of all, you need to contact a bank branch employee and declare your intentions. To count on a reduction in overpayment, you must provide an ideal credit history. If previous payments were made without delays and the client has not had any problems with financial institutions in the entire history of lending, then the bank can accommodate.

Sberbank is also lowering interest rates for those who participate in salary projects. Clients do not need to provide certificates confirming income or other documents on solvency. If the client takes part in this program, then the bank is confident that all funds will be returned to him.

In addition, you can try to attract guarantors or provide property as collateral.

How to re-register at a lower interest rate

In this case, the only possible option is to conclude a new refinancing agreement. It is worth noting that, starting this year, Sberbank is providing preferential conditions for this procedure. Therefore, you can close loans from other credit institutions and draw up a new contract. This will be especially beneficial for those who have acquired loan obligations at high interest rates.

What is needed to re-issue a loan

To do this, just contact any available Sberbank branch and fill out the appropriate application. In addition to the application form, you must also take with you a passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation, contracts of previous credit institutions, certificates confirming repayment and the absence of late payments and a work book. If the client is a participant in a social program, then it is necessary to provide a certificate of marriage and birth of children. If the borrower is a man under the age of 27, then you must bring a military ID.

When talking about how to reduce the interest rate on a loan, you need to take into account that the more positive information the borrower can provide about himself, the greater will be his chances of lowering the loan rate and obtaining more favorable loan conditions.

Finally

In fact, lowering the interest rate at a bank is quite problematic. Therefore, it is better to think through the profitability of the deal in advance even before signing the contract. Before signing papers, it is necessary to consider all options for mortgage or consumer loans, interest rates in 2017 and what forecasts experts have made for the subsequent period of time. Any information will be useful.