'We have to check the consumer loan agreements that our customers complain about. Last year, we detected a number of mistakes and violations in some banks’ contracts, so all these banks’ cases are now being considered by the region’s Court of Arbitration,’ Consumer Rights Protection Director of Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Rospotrebnadzor (the state consumer rights watchdog) Natalya Afanasieva said to UrBC.

The number of complaints placed by the banks’ borrowers rose by ten times last year compared to the year 2006. Head of Rospotrebnadzor Gennady Onischenko reports 1,062 claims were laid by customers in 2007, including 357 written complaints and 705 oral appeals. 700 complaints were made in the first half of the year alone, 650 of which were related to Russian Standard Bank.

'As for our division, we had about 100 complaints last year, of which 70 complaints were made against Russian Standard Bank,’ Ms Afanasieva said.