The Bank of Russia is seeking legislative recognition of the right of regulating the conduct of banks when selling banking and non-banking products to the population. In the near future the regulator will forward the relevant proposals to the state Duma. According to the Central Bank, banks were not ready to self-regulation, which would allow to solve the problem of misselling. Previously, the banking Association has expressed a desire to create a self-regulatory organization (SRO).The Bank of Russia wants the right to set the rules of conduct of banks when dealing with the public. “We will turn shortly to the State Duma with the request to give the Bank of Russia the power to set the rules of conduct of banks when selling banking and non-banking products to the population”,— said today the first Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Sergey Shvetsov during the online session of the state Duma Committee on financial market (quoted by the Agency “Prime”).In July 2019 the head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said that the Central Bank is thinking about introduction of Institute of self-regulation in the banking market because of misselling, wants to solve the problem of protection of the rights of consumers or through government regulation or through self-regulation of the sector. “Here we have two options: either to introduce a strict regulation, particularly state regulation of the rules of sales, and we realize how Central Bank supervision, behavioral supervision, or do it still through the self-regulatory organization, because in other sectors the self-regulatory organization, to make such standards are monitored for compliance,” said she.In February this year the Bank of Russia again began to talk about establishing the rules of the sale of financial products. The Central Bank continues to believe that it is necessary to counter the unscrupulous selling of financial services. “We plan to discuss with lawmakers the issue of vesting the Bank of Russia the right to establish rules of sales that meet the objectives of the counter-misselling, the imposition of the VAS and withholding information,” said Elvira Nabiullina in organized by Association of Russian banks (ADB) annual meeting of bankers with the leadership of the Central Bank.According to the Bank, for January—March 2020 the number of complaints against credit institutions fell by 6.3% compared to the same period of 2019 and 38.6 thousand. the Highest proportion of complaints of credit institution takes issues of consumer credit is 37.9%. In the first quarter of 2020 received 750 complaints related Messalina, of which 54% for banks. The solution to this problem, the regulator is also waiting in the introduction of a key information document (KID).The Association of Russian banks (ARB) in September last year, has strongly opposed the introduction of self-regulation in the banking sector. BAnkiru feared that such an institution will not work efficiently, but it will require a significant cash infusion and will further worsen the situation with competition in the market (see “Kommersant” on September 12, 2019). The report, prepared by ADB in March this year, less than a third of surveyed credit institutions supported the creation of the SRO in the sphere of protection of rights of consumers of banking services. Almost as many banks objected to this proposal, the remainder took a neutral position. “We will move in the paradigm of the lack of self-regulation in relation to banking products”,— said Mr. Shvetsov, commenting on the position of bankers.Polina Smorodskaya
