OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2014. The Head of FAS Department for Control over Financial Markets, Olga Sergeeva, took part in the XII International Banking Forum “Russian Banks — XXI Century” organized by the Association of Russian Regional Banks.

Attendees discussed, in particular, current and strategic objectives of the financial sector for the period of up to 2020 and methods for enhancing its sustainability as well as regulation and control over financial institutions under the conditions of globalization of financial markets.

Representatives of the State Duma, the Federation Council, the Bank of Russia, the Ministry of Finances, other ministries and agencies, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs as well as the leading financial market analysts, top-managers of banks and companies took part in the event.

Olga Sergeeva made a presentation about “Pressing Issues of Antimonopoly Regulation on Financial Markets, where she pointed out that the overall number of antimonopoly cases on financial markets went down except OSAGO (mandatory third party liability insurance) market. The speaker also drew attention to the fact that in the past three years in around 20% of antimonopoly cases antimonopoly violations were not confirmed.

In view of Olga Sergeeva, it confirms the need for a more careful approach of the antimonopoly bodies to collecting evidence, particular, anticompetitive agreements between credit and insurance organizations, and full enforcement of the decision of FAS Presidium on the issue of classifying some forms of such cooperation as violations.

Olga Sergeeva also informed participants that the State Duma is considering a draft Law devised by FAS, which excludes unreasonable advantages for state banks for work with deposits of certain categories of individuals. A new mechanism of securing deposit repayment is that the funds, which individuals can keep in a bank, cannot exceed the amount guaranteed by a deposit insurance system.

As one of FAS priorities, the Head of FAS Department for Control over Financial Markets mentioned developing alternative procedures for access of banks to monetary assets of some categories of legal entities and rendering some services to them as at the moment such access is available only to large banks. It concerns, in particular, the funds for capital repair of apartment blocks and rendering services for granting bank guarantees for taxation purposes.

Since Russia does not have a system for insuring deposits of legal entities, such efforts will focus on devising requirements to the banks that should not distort competition but also should not prevent exercising state functions and objectives.

Olga Sergeeva emphasized the problems on OSAGO market, including imposing voluntary insurance services under the frame of issuing OSAGO policies and lack of equal competitive opportunities and an absence of a system of OSAGO claims settlement convenient for the injured persons. She also asked the attendees to put forward their proposals on the problem of cooperation between banks and insurance companies associated with banks overrating their remuneration for exercising the functions of insurance agents for crediting members of the public, as well as imposing some banking services under the frame of exercising the functions.

According to the representative of the antimonopoly authority, in August 2014 the Expert Council for protecting competition on the market of financial services already discussed the issue with market participants in the context of importance to prolong and make changes to No.385 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 30.04.2009.

A part of the Report was devoted to cooperation with the Bank of Russia, particular, due to transferring to the Bank of Russia the functions for regulation and control over financial markets. Notably, Olga Sergeeva, informed Forum participants about FAS plans to reach an agreement with the Bank of Russia to make additions to the list of information obtained from the Bank of Russia on a regular basis with regard to credit organizations, information about performance indicators of other organizations subordinate to the Bank of Russia in order to reduce administrative burden caused by antimonopoly control.