Reforming the Central Bank will do ... the Central Bank itself

In the distant future, the Bank of Russia does not exclude the allocation of supervisory functions. The Bank of Russia considers the possibility of reforming its functions. This idea was voiced yesterday at the banking conference, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia, Gennady Melikyan.

"Voltairens" from the Central Bank

Reforming is understood to be the allocation of supervisory functions of the Central Bank. But this selection, according to reformers from the Central Bank, does not mean “led”. The Bank of Russia does not intend to release supervisory functions from its competence. The liberalism of its managers is limited to the creation of a special unit within themselves. “The next step can be the separation of regulation from practical supervision. I mean the central apparatus, ”said Gennady Melikyan and added that“ there is still an offer to centralize everything and take supervision from the territorial units ”. All these reforms, however, is a matter of a distant future. No specific terms are called in the Central Bank.

Best protection

The words of Gennady Melikyan became a kind of answer to the intensification of pressure, which has been experiencing recently by the Central Bank. Recently, the deputies of the Duma once again resurrected the idea of leaving supervisory functions from the Bank of Russia and the transfer of them to Rosfinmonitoring. In addition, the head of Rosfinmonitoring Viktor Zubkov announced proposals for tightening control over cash transactions. The essence of these proposals was to increase the financial intelligence control sector, which she would conduct in parallel with the Central Bank. True, Viktor Zubkov specifically emphasized that his department does not claim to be supervised by the Central Bank. “He (Central Bank) did this, does and will do this for a very long time,” said the official. How long? No one knows for sure. And therefore, the Bank of Russia took the case into its own hands, in advance, having in advance of the site of opportunities in its favor.

Another invasion of a megaregulator

Against the background of the attack of "financial monitors", traditional opponents of the Central Bank were activated. Yesterday it turned out that the State Duma banking committee has already prepared a number of recommendations to the government, including a proposal to consider creating a megaregulator with the transfer of banking supervision functions. In March of this year, the FSFR is going to make his report to the government on the creation of a mega -regulator in the field of financial markets, which also should also pay much attention to the issue of supervision of banks. Attempts by managers of the stock market to invade the sphere of interests of the Bank of Russia have been undertaken for a long time. They reached their peak in the mid-90s, when a real cultural war broke out between the FCCB (the predecessor of the FSFR) and the Central Bank. But the Central Bank managed to recapture her. In 1998, immediately after the banking crisis, the government demanded the supervision of the Central Bank by the International Monetary Fund. The Central Bank survived. In 2003, “to separate the control and supervisory functions of the Central Bank, taking them to a separate structure” was proposed by the administrative reform commission. In 2004, when the Federal Service for Financial Markets (FSFR) was created, conversations began on the transfer of banking supervision functions into its competence. The main slogan of the day was the need to create a single megaregulator of the stock market. This idea in the Central Bank is treated with great suspicion. “There is no practical evidence that the seizure of these functions from the Bank of Russia will lead to effective supervision,” Gennady Melikyan said yesterday. However, the head of the FSFR Oleg Vyugin repeatedly emphasized that this issue requires very serious study, since the mechanical transfer of supervision and control of banks from the Central Bank of the Megagaregulator will most likely lead to the collapse of the control itself. Oleg Vyugin, who worked in the Central Bank, knows the system of his activity from the inside and understands that he should not take it inhabited.

Gradual reform

The most active supporter of preserving the functions of regulation within the Central Bank was the late first deputy chairman of the Central Bank Andrei Kozlov, who just oversaw this direction. He argued that each country should build such a banking supervision management system that is convenient for it, and that in Russia banking supervision has been delivered better than any other supervision. The Central Bank is not going to share authority now. True, Gennady Melikyan admitted that “at some stage, when the conglomerates will dominate, there may be effective supervision carried out by a single structure,” but added that during the transitional stage “when the order was not brought”, there is no such need. How much this transitional stage can last, the deputy chairman did not specify, but made it clear that this was not the next years. “In general, we are in the right direction, there will be no revolutionary changes in the banking sector in 2007,” he said.

03/15/2007 / Evgeny Mazin Material Published in the newspaper No. 47 dated 03.16.2007.