OREANDA-NEWS. May 26, 2010. The Federal Arbitration Court of the North-Caucasus District upheld the decision of Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the Rostov region (the Rostov OFAS Russia) that the Savings Bank of Russia violated Clause 7 Part 1 Article 10 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition" (which prohibits financial organizations fixing monopolistically high or low prices for financial services), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The Savings Bank of Russia violated the antimonopoly law by fixing unreasonably high price for the service of maintenance of accounts of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in Rostov-on-Don.

The case against the Savings Bank of Russia was initiated upon a petition of "Phoenix" Service Centre" Ltd. The Bank fixed unreasonably high price for maintenance of Ruble accounts, which had quadrupled from 1st January 2009 (from 500 Rubles to 2000 Rubles per month). The case was considered by a joint Commission of the Rostov OFAS Russia and the Office of the Bank of Russia in the Rostov Region.

The Rostov OFAS Russia stated that the Bank had increased the price in the period of the financial crisis, when there was a wide-scale cash outflow from some credit organizations to those that were given government support, including the Savings Bank of Russia.

Earlier the Rostov Regional Arbitration Court and the 15th Arbitration Appeal Court also found the actions of the Savings Bank of Russia unlawful.