CBR could implement new criteria for investor qualification - annual income
YEKATERINBURG. Oct 12 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is ready to consider the introduction of a new criterion in addition to the existing property criterion: the criterion of annual income, as part of the discussion on reform of the system for awarding qualified investor status, which has recently become one of the most painful points in the regulator's interaction with the stock market.
"There is another idea with which I would like to conclude my speech. We have also discussed it with the market beforehand, and I would like to share it. Our jurisdiction does not yet have such an independent qualification criterion as level of income, i.e. not property, but income received for the period of a year - two years prior, while most jurisdictions have it. And we have analyzed in depth how it works, why it is there, and we actually believe that it is not a bad criterion. We are ready to discuss the possibility of its introduction within the framework of this reform with the market," head of the CBR's Consumer Protection and Financial Services Availability Service Mikhail Mamuta said during the NAUFOR Urals Conference.
Mamuta explained what the Central Bank sees as the advantage of this criterion over the property criterion: "When a person receives some income, a stable income, it means that this money is paid to him for something. It is unlikely that out of the blue a person will be paid decent money, if there are such lucky people, they are obviously few. This is quite different from the possibility of randomly obtaining property".
As a minimum threshold, the Central Bank allows the same 6 million rubles, which is now the lower threshold of the property requirement.
"The income criterion, in our opinion, is interesting, we are ready to discuss it, we have a certain calculation model in our understanding - to keep the figure of 6 million rubles, which is in place now, but for annual income [not value of property]," he said.