OREANDA-NEWS. July 11, 2008. Following an announcement on 8th July 2008 from the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) when it confirmed that it had initiated a case against Home Credit & Finance Bank ("HCFB") for allegedly breaching Article 14 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition", the Directors of HCFB issued the following statement, reported the press-centre of HCFB:

Whilst HCFB fully supports the State authorities in all their efforts to develop a well-informed and highly transparent consumer finance market in Russia, we strongly contest the allegation by the FAS that HCFB has breached any unfair competition rules.

HCFB has always sought to maintain the highest standards in consumer service and transparency by adopting all the regulatory requirements laid down by the controlling bodies responsible for such matters. The alleged breaches relate to a small segment of the Bank's POS product line. We are not in a position to comment further until such time as the outcome of the case hearing on 13th August.

"HCFB looks forward to presenting its appeal when it will vigorously contest the allegation and reiterate its objections to the claim set out by the FAS. The Bank is confident of a satisfactory outcome to this case."