'UralTransBank and a number of local insurers signed an agreement that appears to violate the competition protection law in the field of insurance services,’ Stepan Krasheninnikov from Sverdlovsk Region division of Federal Antimonopoly Service said to UrBC.

'The bank chose some trustworthy insurance companies and signed agreements with them, which means that the insurance services might grow somewhat more expensive. We are not talking about a very large sum of money here, but it will still affect the customers. In fact, the bank is limiting their choice by allowing them to use only some certain insurers,’ he added.

UralTransBank and Severnaya Kazna will have to face criminal trials since both banks are charged with limiting free competition (Article 11 of the federal Competition Protection Act).

'This is just the beginning of the case. The first court hearing has been scheduled for November 12, 2007. We haven’t been able to prove or refute the accusation yet, and it all depends on UralTransBank’s actions. The bank might actually provide some papers that state they haven’t violated anything. Then, it might cancel its agreements with the insurers. This was done by a few banks in Moscow that made their list of insurers to choose from virtually unlimited,’ Mr. Krasheninnikov noted.