Large cos asking to restructure loans slightly more often - Central Bank of Russia

MOSCOW. Dec 28 (Interfax) - The quality of the loan portfolio of Russian banks remains high overall, but major companies have started to request restructuring slightly more often, the Central Bank said in a summary of the key rate discussion at its December board meeting.

"Discussants mentioned that high-frequency data do not point to a significant deterioration in the quality of the loan portfolio. It remains high overall. But there has been an increase in the number of small and medium-sized businesses having problems servicing their debt. There are high-frequency data that larger companies have also begun to apply for restructuring slightly more often," the summary says.

The discussants also agreed that the situation should continue to be monitored carefully and credit market trends analyzed.