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| From May, banks will be forced to report financials according to international standards |
RUSSIAN BANKING REFORM has finally started to move forward after eight years of dithering.
Starting this spring, every bank in the country will be carefully scrutinized and have to reapply for its licence. The lucky ones that pass muster will be admitted to a new deposit insurance scheme that will allow them to hold the savings of the man on the street.
The deposit insurance scheme is the cornerstone of the Central Bank of Russia's plans to reform the sector and it comes with a string of lesser improvements.
From May the banks will also be forced to report their financials according to international accounting standards and from April they will have to report to the CBR every day.
"The entire banking sector will effectively be relicensed. It will take time. Initially the CBR was talking about June, but now they are not mentioning any dates," says Michael Perhirin, the chairman of Raiffeisenbank. "But the important thing is that it is an ongoing process that has now started.