Banks have lost in the consumer loan transparency fight: Home Credit and Finance Bank Ltd. in Yekaterinburg admitted being defeated by Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) and came up with a new agreement form; this time, it is commission-free. In the meantime, Rospotrebnadzor has been looking into the affairs of the consumer loan leader – Russian Standard Bank after a claim was laid against the company and RosBank by their Moscow-based borrowers.

Commissions charged for opening and servicing an account and other payments raise the actual interest rate on a consumer loan from 10% -15% to 45%-60% a year. Russian Standard Bank reports that their annual interest rates on loans reached the point of 55% in 2005. Sverdlovsk Region division of Rospotrebnadzor (receiving a complaint from a client of Home Credit and Finance Bank Ltd.) sees all the extra commissions and payments as a service fobbed off on a client and therefore has recently placed a claim with the Supreme Court; the court, in its turn, satisfied the claim of Rospotrebnadzor and rejected the petition of the Association of Regional Russian Banks.

Home Credit and Finance Bank Ltd. tried to impugn the decision, but these attempts were futile; their writ of appeal was rejected in January, Elena Bogacheva, employee of Rospotrebnadzor, said to Vedomosti newspaper. Then the Supreme Court of Arbitration rejected the bank’s petitions twice, the deadlines for submitting a complaint were missed, and the bank asked to restore the deadline for them. Home Credit and Finance Bank Ltd. says they are now waiting to see if the Supreme Court of Arbitration is going to accept their petition this time.