Cbank may cut threshold for IRB approach of banks to 150 bln rbl

MOSCOW, Nov 17 (PRIME) -- The central bank may reduce the assets requirement for a Russian bank to switch to an internal ratings-based approach (IRB approach) to evaluation of credit risks to 150 billion rubles from 500 billion rubles at the end of 2020 or in early 2021, Alexei Lobanov, head of the central bank banking regulation department, said on Tuesday.

“We are working … on reducing the threshold for the amount of assets to join this approach for the banks that would like to switch to it voluntarily from the current figure of 500 billion rubles to about 150 billion rubles,” he said at a conference.

“To do that, we have to amend the regulatory acts, and the amendments are at a high degree of readiness as of today. These are the plans for the end of this year and for the beginning of next.”

The regulator allowed Russian banks to use IRB approaches in 2015. There is a basic IRB approach when banks define only the probability of default on their own, and an advanced IRB approach when banks define all risk parameters on their own. A bank could apply for the advanced approach only if its assets exceed 500 billion rubles. Sberbank was the first bank to switch to the advanced IRB approach.

(76.9197 rubles – U.S. $1)

End %%md/jst%%