"A quota and procedures for the non-admittance of [foreign] branches should be stipulated by the law," said Alexander Murychev, president of the Association of Regional Banks of Russia.
Addressing a roundtable, the Russian Banking Sector and the WTO, Murychev said that the current legislation on foreign banks was limited in scope to the restrictions the Russian Central Bank was allowed to impose. He said amendments should be made that protect the Central Bank from possible lawsuits brought by foreign banks.
Murychev said Russia would be able to coordinate restrictions on foreign banks' operations in the country ahead of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the banker, about 100 countries that signed bilateral agreements with Russia on its accession to the WTO have agreed with the restrictions for foreigners on the Russian financial market.
Commenting on media reports that Moscow had apparently softened its position on a quota for foreign banks in aggregate assets of the Russian banking sector, raising it from 22% to 50%, Murychev said: "One should not even talk about a 50% [quota]." He added that a 25% quota was already effective in Russia's current economic development.
Russian economic ministry and banking officials, including Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref, have repeatedly said that the issue of admitting branches of foreign banks and insurance companies was very sensitive since Russia's banking system was obviously not ready to compete with foreign banks.
