the banking sector now? by the beginning of 2021, 75 % of loan repayment holidays ended. in other words, restructured loans now pose objectively lower risks to banks ’ financial standing. moreover, the absolute majority of borrowers have managed to resume their scheduled repayments. this means that they really needed loan repayment holidays and easing for that period ( which was not writing - off, but easing ). this was a critical measure. i said this earlier, at the meetings with parliamentary fractions, and would like to repeat this again : we are very thankful for the timely amendments to the laws in those areas where they were truly needed. i would like to focus on mortgage lending separately. mortgage lending soared last year, adding 20 % as of the end of the year. banks ’ total mortgage loan portfolio reached 9. 5 trillion rubles. this is a really large amount — almost one half of all bank loans issued to households. this year, mortgage lending continues to grow, adding 5 % in q1 alone. the rise in lending was spurred by low interest rates, primarily owing to the lending programmes subsidised by the government. that was a very efficient programme in the conditions of the acute phase of the crisis, but in march the interest rate on both market - based and subsidised loans averaged 7. 2 % compared to nearly 9 % as of the beginning of 2020. 3 / 6 bis central bankers'speeches eventually, such a significant increase in the demand for mortgage loans, coupled with other factors hindering supply expansion, pushed up housing prices. according to rosstat, price growth in the primary market in 2021 q1 reached 17. 6 % in annualised terms, and it is also rather high in the secondary market — 13. 6 %. i would like to remind you that currently annual inflation is about 5. 8 %, that is, price growth in this market is significantly higher than inflation. in a number of regions, housing prices surged by more than 20 %, even though households ’ real incomes declined. as an anti - crisis measure, we also expanded opportunities for the so - called good mortgage loans with a small down payment. however, in the primary market, the portion of mortgage loans with a small down payment, which involve higher risks, increased from 24 % in 2020 q2 to 45 % in 2021 q1. this also reflects the observed trends and shows that the anti - crisis measures achieved their objectives and should be phased out. otherwise

movement, to undertake this search. because, you need to find answers to some inconvenient questions. they are as follows : a. has the co - operative movement retained its relevance after its 130 years existence in india? b. has the indian psyche grown beyond the need for “ one person one vote for mutual benefit ” idiom? c. has the co - operative movement captured the imagination of younger generation? d. has it produced enough qualified and energetic young leaders to carry forward the movement? e. how the movement can insulate itself from the trends that as the cab study pointed out reduce the cooperativeness of co - operatives? 36. i would strongly urge the sector, if not in this seminar, to find answers to these questions. 37. another area where the cooperativeness of co - operatives is missing relates to the federations ’ role. several committees have suggested that the co - operative banking sector need umbrella organisations to facilitate, among others, funds management, it services, capacity building and strategic guidance. i hear about only one serious attempt has been made by the gujarat federation so far in that direction. it is a matter of regret that federations could not so far come forward to activise such umbrella organisations. i look forward to the federations moving ahead on this very useful, self - helping initiative. conclusion 38. to conclude, let me say that we do recognize that co - operative banks are unique in terms of their structure, clientele and credit delivery. the resilience shown by these banks during their long existence can be leveraged. despite their inherent weaknesses in terms of low capital, poor management and intrusive policies of state, co - operative banks in india have successfully weathered several challenges during their century old existence and continued to grow in the competitive environment which emerged following the economic and financial sector reforms initiated in 1991. rbi has been continuously taking policy measures to strengthen the co - operative banking sector. it is heartening to see that supportive regulatory environment, adoption of technology and re - orientation of business strategy can act as enablers for co - operative banks to contribute more meaningfully. yet, looking into the future, some hard questions relating to maintaining the cooperativeness in co - operatives need to be answered. and federations have to deliver on umbrella organisations. 39. thanking you all for your patient attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches