Russian banks fear massive fines after unprecedented surge in court bailiff inquiries

Russian banks received a record number of requests from the Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) for information about debtors over three days in early September, an unprecedented surge that could result in significant fines and jeopardize the financial stability of some institutions. The National Financial Market Council (NFMC) revealed that one regional bank alone received 12.8 million requests on September 19, a number as high as the bank typically processes in an entire month.

The FSSP requests over the three-day period were at least 10 to 12 times the usual volume, reaching up to 30 times at some banks, according to the council's head Andrey Yemelin. Over 90% of the requests were directed towards individuals who were not customers of the banks that received them, according to Yelena Samokhina, director of the banking development department at the Association of Banks of Russia.

Experts believe technical errors may be a factor in the vast number of requests, citing the FSSP's habit of automatically resending requests if a bank fails to confirm receipt. If such confirmations are lost, the automated system could inadvertently send the entire backlog, along with duplicates, to banks. Banks are legally obligated to provide the requested information within three days or face fines ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 rubles per request.

Given the sheer volume of requests, Yemelin warned that the fines could pose a real threat to the financial stability of certain banks. The NFMC has asked the Central Bank to investigate the situation, which the central bank has acknowledged and stated it will review according to established procedures.