OREANDA-NEWS. On January 21, 2009 A session of the Expert Council on Protection of Competition on the Market of Financial Services took place at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

The main items on the agenda were developing equal competition conditions for access of credit organizations to additional finances resources of the state in order to secure credit expansion by the banks as part of support measures for the financial market and branches of the economy of the Russian Federation, as well as ensuring credit availability to small and medium businesses.

A. Kashevarov, Deputy Head of FAS Russia, S. Borisov, the President of the Association "Opora Rossii", G. Tosunyan, the President of the Association of Russian Banks, M. Kovrigin, the Deputy Director of the Department for Bank Regulation and Supervision, of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, K. Kolpakov, the Director of the Legal Department of the Savings Bank of Russia, and representatives of banks and associations, and entrepreneurs took part in the session of the Expert Council.

Summing up the session, the Expert Council concluded that it is necessary to expand access of credit organizations to additional finances resources, offered as part of support measures for the financial market and branches of the economy of the Russian Federation.

In the present conditions, restricting access of credit organizations to the means of state support because the organization does not have a long-term credit rating of an international or domestic rating agency, is not justified. The main criterion for access of credit organizations to the funds should be compliance with the indicators specified in the Instruction of the Bank of Russia "On Assessment of the Bank Economic Position". Also there should be gradual transition to assessment of banks economic position by audit agencies, hired by the regulator or self-regulated banking organizations.

The means of state support should be offered under certain conditions, such as access of any credit organization to the means of state support, which should be offered in proportion to the own funds of credit organizations; setting the upper limit of the crediting rate for small and medium-sized business entities provided they present duly assessed loan coverage; and mandatory loan granting out of the state support funds upon coverage availability To ensure that funds reach the real sector of the economy immediately, the means of state support should be used in a manner of rapid payment, with mandatory allocation of the finances received by credit organizations for the stated purposes of the loan.

To ensure efficient control over target use of the means of state support, there should be a system of special accounts with spending regulation that allows writing off the funds only for crediting the real sector of the economy, small and medium-sized business entities, including special; correspondent accounts in Vnesheconombank.