Executive Order No. 596-r of 15 April 2014. The draft law was prepared pursuant to Russia’s commitments to the World Trade Organisation.
The draft federal law On Amendments to Articles 16 and 18 of the Federal Law On Banks and Banking Activities (hereinafter referred to as the draft law) was prepared by the Ministry of Finance.
The draft law was developed pursuant to Russia’s commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regarding the introduction of a 50% quota on foreign participation in Russia’s banking system, and also taking into account Russia’s position with respect to its accession to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In accordance with the draft law, the aforementioned quota shall be introduced by federal law submitted by the Government and coordinated with the Bank of Russia. The quota shall be calculated as the ratio of the total non-resident participation in the authorised capital of banking institutions with foreign investments to the total registered capital of banking institutions registered in Russia.
The quota on foreign participation in the total registered capital of banks operating in Russia shall equal 50%. The draft law also features a list of investments that will not be taken into account when calculating the quota, and operational procedures for the Bank of Russia when the quota is exceeded.
This draft law is yet another step towards bringing Russian laws in line with arrangements regarding access to banking services, which the Russian Federation arrived at upon its accession to the WTO, facilitating Russia’s accession to the 1960 OECD Convention and joining this organisation.
The draft law was reviewed and approved at a meeting of the Russian Government on 3 April 2014.