Russia has been added to the list of 55 countries with mega-regulators. The Cabinet has been discussing the issue of creating an official body to regulate and control the financial markets for several years. So, the State Duma has adopted in its third final reading the bill that puts in charge the Bank of Russia. The Central Bank of Russia was vested with additional powers and functions that used to be exercised by the Federal Financial Markets Service. The new watchdog will have control over the commodity exchanges, brokers, and intermediaries as well as insurance and loan activities, and pension savings. Moreover, the Russian Central Bank will also establish the standards of the accounting system, register the issue of securities, and, thanks to the power to initiate legislation, submit bills and acts to the government. The government, in its turn, will keep its authority over mandatory types of insurance and pension funds, in particular, over calculation and appropriation of the pension payments. The CBR board of directors expects that such novelties may cause higher expenses. That, in the financial analysts' opinion, will have an impact upon the revenue level and result in the income reduction. The creation of mega-regulators will contribute to the financial market stability and partly relieve duties of other market participants. After the new law comes into force, the board of Russia’s Central Bank is supposed to be re-elected.
