MOSCOW, April 24 (RAPSI) – The Russian government announced on Friday that a bill on rating agencies has been approved, although few provisions should be amended. 

The top three global rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – downgraded Russia’s rating to junk in January. Russian officials criticized the move as unjustified and politically motivated.

A bill was subsequently submitted to the State Duma to introduce accreditation requirements for rating agencies in Russia.

According to the bill, Russian corporations and foreign companies that have affiliates in Russia would have to have at least two years of credit rating activity to be accredited. Foreign companies would have to file documents for accreditation every two years.

Russia’s Central Bank would be made responsible for the accreditation of rating agencies. 

Non-accredited rating agencies would not be forbidden from operating in Russia, but only ratings by accredited agencies could be quoted for regulatory purposes.

“It appears expedient to further improve the provisions of the bill regarding the ban on combining rating services with other activities,” the government said in its review.

The introduction of the term “rating agency” would require amending the Law on the Securities Market.

“Based on the above, the Russian Government has proposed supporting the bill, provided it is amended to take these comments into account,” the government’s press service said.