Foreign banks' branches may be set up in Russia next year

Foreign banks' branches may be set up in Russia next year, Interfax news agency reported, quoting first deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank Tatyana Paramonova. She said regulating of foreign banks' activity "would be possible on equal terms with Russian market participants". Paramonova said the Russian government and Central Bank did not intend introducing special quotas for foreign banks. She noted that foreign capital existed already in Russia's banking market. There are several Russian banks created with foreign participation. Paramonova also stated that Russia's banking system would be brought up in the near future to the standards accepted in the European Union.