MOSCOW, April 10 (RAPSI) – Russia’s government had raised upper limits of mortgages the borrowers of which affected by the coronavirus pandemic are eligible to seek repayment holidays with banks, the Cabinet Chair Mikhail Mishustin said addressing a conference on economic issues.

The respective sum, according to Mishustin, is calculated taking into account the specifics of different segments of the mortgage market, since apartment prices vary across Russia’s regions; thus in Moscow, where housing is most expensive, the cap is to make 4.5 million rubles (about $60,000 at the current exchange rate), whereas in St. Petersburg and in the Far East Federal District it is to be set at 3 million rubles ($40,000); for other regions the upper mortgage limit makes 2 million rubles ($26,500).

The figures, the Chair of the government noted, had been determined in the result of an analysis of objective evidence on the market of mortgage borrowings collected over a two-year period. He expressed his hope that the measure is to help the majority of those concerned.

Earlier, the government announced the caps to be at 1.5 million rubles ($20,000).

On April 3, President Vladimir Putin signed into a law provisions entitling borrowers to six-month repayment holidays if their incomes over the preceding month declined by 30% in comparison with their last year average monthly income.