Following the request of Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District, his deputy Viktor Basargin coordinated a meeting of the interdepartmental committee for taxation, banking sector development, and financial markets.

Mr. Basargin said that a number of Ural banks started giving college loans to students within the framework of the National Education Project, but more efforts still needed to be made.

‘As regards the Agricultural Development Project, small farms and private plots received over 1 billion RUR worth of loans, yet the lack of strong cooperation ties between the banks and the rural dwellers resulted in more than 400 million RUR meant for loans that remained unused. Besides, the availability of banking services to villagers is still a major problem. We need to bring the services to customers as effectively as we can,’ Mr. Basargin observed.

‘As for the region’s small businesses, they got 54.577 billion RUR worth of loans in 2006, or 12.6% of Russia’s total number of loans to sole traders. This makes Ural Federal District the country’s fourth largest ‘lender’. However, the demand has not been fully met yet,’ he said.

Mr. Basargin also emphasized that the banking system was capable of meeting its goals and playing a more significant part in the national projects. ‘Banks need to start cooperating with the Russian Federation subjects and municipal authorities to reveal their full growth potential. Greater availability of banking services to private individuals and small businesses will largely depend on the efficiency of this cooperation,’ he reported.

This information was reported by the spokesperson for Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District.