OREANDA-NEWS.  September 13, 2012. The Head of FAS Department for Control over Financial Markets, Olga Sergeeva, discussed important changes in antimonopoly regulation of the banking sector, speaking in Sochi, at the X International Banking Forum – “Russian Bank - XXI Century” , reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

In particular, the FAS representative emphasized that No.542 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 1st June 2012 changed the asset value of credit organizations for the purposes of antimonopoly control.

Olga Sergeeva talked about the legislative efforts of FAS Russia undertaken jointly with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In 2012 FAS and the Central Bank approved the Procedures for analyzing the state of competition in order to establish dominant position of a credit organization and the Methods for determining unreasonably high and unreasonably low prices for the services of credit organizations.

The Head of the specialized FAS department drew attention of the conference to expanding the scope of reference of the joint Commission of FAS Russia and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Since 1st June 2012, the Commission is in charge for control over not only credit organizations but also payment systems operators and operators of payment infrastructure services that act under the Federal Law “On the National Payment System”.

In the concluding part of her report, Olga Sergeeva pointed out changes to the edition of the decision of the FAS on classification of actions of credit and insurance organizations under the contracts of collective life and health insurance of borrowers.

In particular, she clarified: “The decision now has new added provisions on a possibility to recognize an agreement between a credit and an insurance organization anticompetitive, if an agreement provides for a refusal of a credit organization to reduce credit interest rates to a level, which borrowers can expect in accordance with the announced conditions of reducing credit interest rates when a borrower agrees to be insured under a collective insurance contract. It is possible if a borrower presents an insurance policy signed by an insurance company, selected by the borrower, and which provides for risk insurance, required to reduce the credit interest rates”.