Russian govt will not appoint representatives to Central Bank board
MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax) - The Russian government has abandoned plans to appoint its representatives to the board of directors of the Central Bank as part of the plans to create a mega-regulator, after failing to persuade the Bank that such a move would not call into question its independence.
"The Central Bank thought that just letting the government in" to the board would be "only the first step" toward the government controlling the Central Bank, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said in an interview with Business FM.
Now this issue is no longer on the table, he said. The government and the Central Bank have agreed that the Cabinet will reserve for itself a number of powers that were to be handed over to the mega-regulator and will not seek a place on the board of directors.
This includes the investment policy statements of pension funds, Shuvalov said.
Sources told Interfax earlier that the possibility of installing government representatives on the board of the Central Bank in light of it assuming some government functions with its upcoming takeover of the Federal Financial Markets Service was discussed at a meeting with Shuvalov in February. The Central Bank took a strong stand against the idea.
The Central Bank's board now has eleven directors, all of whom are high-ranking employees of the Central Bank.