Russian banks have sharply slowed down the growth of investments in corporate bonds. In August 2026, their claims on such securities increased by only 45 billion rubles - almost six times less than a year earlier. In the months of January-August, the increase amounted to 255 billion compared to 1.78 trillion rubles in the corresponding period in 2025. By September, the portfolio of bank claims on the company's bonds approached 9 trillion rubles. At the same time, corporate issuers continued to actively place new issues: in August, the volume of universes reached 875 billion rubles. The debt financing market remains active, but banking demand is growing much more cautiously. The decisions of the credit institutions are pressured by high rates and fear of borrower defaults. At the same time, the change in the portfolio cannot be directly compared to net purchases: it is affected by the redemption of securities and asset appreciation. Still, the seven-fold slowdown in eight-month growth shows how much more restrained banks are in taking risks in the corporate debt market. Ξeconomics.