Friday 13th promises to be an unhappy day for the Central Bank

The Kremlin has launched radical reforms of the nation’s key financial regulator that has for several years successfully combined its regulatory responsibilities with profitable commercial activities. The Russian Central Bank’s long resistance to Mikhail Kasyanov’s financial policies could soon end with the dismissal of the Bank’s chief Viktor Gerashchenko. At the end of September, President Putin submitted a draft bill to parliament for the introduction of amendments to the law on the Central Bank of Russia. Apparently, Friday 13th promises to be an unlucky day for the Central Bank. By October 13th the State Duma’s Banking Committee will have completed the revision of the presidential amendments to the legislation on the Central Bank. The amended bill will then be submitted to the State Duma for a second reading and subsequent adoption. On Tuesday Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin cautiously announced that the Central Bank’s status would not be significantly altered. However, business analysts predict that if the presidential amendments are adopted, they will effectively lead to the Central Bank’s nationalization - Gazeta.ru reports.