OREANDA-NEWS. The Bank of Russia has joined the Board of Directors of the international association of financial regulators Alliance for Financial Inclusion (АFI). This decision was upheld by majority vote of AFI members. Viktor V. Chistyukhin, Bank of Russia Deputy Governor, will represent Russia in the AFI Board of Directors.

Membership in the AFI Board of Directors will let Russia be more active in the development of international standards in this sphere. A higher level of financial inclusion is a priority in central banks’ activities aimed at solving the task of stable development through accessible proper financial services to small businesses and population. According to UNO statistics, over 2 billion people in the world have no access to official financial services, which creates uneven conditions for economic and social development and threatens financial stability and safety of the financial system.

For Russia the urgency of this task primarily stems from the need to further develop the financial support system of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as to equalize the level of accessibility of financial services for the citizens of megalopolises, small cities and rural settlements.

Alliance for Financial Inclusion is the international association of central banks and other financial regulators which unites more than 100 countries (including BRICS) with its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AFI is a managing partner of G20 in developing financial inclusion policy.