Russia’s Biggest Bank Offering Loaner Cats To Entice Mortgage Borrowers

Just some of the cats available for a 2-hour visit to qualified borrowers’ new homes.

Because it’s apparently good luck in Russia to let a cat stroll through your new home before you move your stuff in, and because mortgage interest rates have skyrocketed in the country, some employees at the nation’s largest bank are offering to lend out their feline friends to a handful of mortgage borrowers in the coming months.

BusinessWeek reports that Sberbank, whose majority owner is the Central Bank of Russia, recently launched the offer, which will deliver 30 loaner cats to qualifying mortgage borrowers until mid-December.

A rep for the bank tells BusinessWeek that the cats — borrowers get to choose from an array of 10, including a hairless — are being lent out by individuals, including some Sberbank employees, “who agreed to let their pets participate in special projects.”

The new homeowner must take out a mortgage worth at least $116,000 during the promotion period and they only get to let the cat do its thing for two hours before it is returned to its owner.

Meanwhile, a mortgage from Sberbank will currently burden you with a 12.5% interest rate, so you might need all the lucky cats you can get your hands on.