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Russia's central bank says all licensed banks should be exempted from Internet curbs
Russia's central bank says all licensed banks should be exempted from Internet curbs
About this update from Sberbank
All commercial banks operating inside Russia should be accessible during mobile internet outages, Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the central bank said on Friday, complaining that the current selective approach distorted fair competition. Authorities have been periodically jamming mobile internet access across Russia amid attacks by Ukrainian drones, which use it for navigation and targeting. A limited so-called "white list" of websites, including some banks, is meant to allow users to access key online resources during such outages. But only a handful of commercial banks, between three and five depending on which mobile operator a customer has, have been included in the list so far even though Russia has 305 banks. "We see this as a rather serious problem, because being on the white list of websites represents a significant competitive advantage for those banks that have made it onto the list," Nabiullina told a news conference. Some of Russia's largest banks, including Sberbank, Gazprombank and T-Bank, which have millions of customers across the country, have not yet been included on the list. "Of course, this violates the rules of fair and equal competition. Therefore, in our view, all licensed banks should be included. This is our position, which we are discussing with the regulators," Nabiullina said.