Sverdlovsk Region’s division of Federal Antimonopoly Service has recently published a report on inspecting the printed ads and billboards of over fifty regional banks and bank’s subsidiaries. The Service reports violations of advertising legislation were detected in eight banks, six of which have already been found guilty. Two cases, involving VUZ Bank and UralTransBank, are still being considered in court.

In addition, the inspections resulted in eleven administrative lawsuits, including two claims laid against Sverdlovsk Gubernskiy Bank and cases involving Bank24.ru, SberInvestBank, and Uralprivatbank. Most of these banks are accused of one and the same violation, namely, failing to provide all the information on the factors that determine the final cost of a loan. According to the current legislation, a bank’s ad that mentions at least one such factor must refer to all the other factors as well.

The banks may have to pay between 40,000 RUR and 500,000 RUR worth of fines, while their top executives may have to pay between 4,000 RUR and 20,000 RUR. The gravity of violations and therefore the fine is to be determined by the Service before the end of June 2008.