75 percent of Russian bankers said they would like to see banking oversight as the Central Bank’s function, according to an opinion poll by the Regional Banks Association.
Photo: Pavel Kassin
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New Overseer for Russian Banking Found
Duma deputies made a surprising suggestion Tuesday to strip the Bank of Russia of its oversight function. The government and the presidential administration backed the idea while banking community is strongly against it.
The parliamentary session on supervision in the banking sector was scheduled right after the murder of the Central Bank’s oversight agency Alexey Kozlov. Speaker of the Russian Duma opened the session with harsh criticism at lax oversight in the banking sector.
Vladislav Reznik, chair of the Duma’s banking committee, said the Central Bank’s campaign with “artificial grounds for withdrawing licenses” to purge the system is undermining stability in the banking industry. Mr. Reznik called for setting up an agency to hold the supervisory policy independent form the Bank of Russia. Central Bank Chairman Sergey Ignatyev apparently did not expect this suggestion declining to comment.
In an interview with Kommersant the head of the Duma’s banking would not name agencies which are backing the initiative. But the Russian Financial Supervision Service is reputed to a strong supporter of the idea.
Duma deputies were considering stripping the Central Bank of the banking oversight function back in 2000. They suggested keeping the new agency as part of the Central Bank system but have its head appointed by the State Duma, Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, told Kommersant. This idea could be used now as a compromise for both Duma and Bank of Russia, Mr. Shokhin noted.
The government and the president’s administration sound supportive of the idea. In stark contrast, the banking community is vehemently opposing the plan. 75 percent of Russian bankers said they would like to see banking oversight as the Central Bank’s function, according to an opinion poll by the Regional Banks Association.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 21, 2007
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