MOSCOW - Finance Minister Boris Fyodorov, at odds with the central bank over the entry of foreign banks, called for a go-slow approach to protect fledgling domestic banks.
He criticized the central bank, which two weeks ago gave full banking licenses to five foreign banks.
"The government welcomes the presence of foreign banks," Mr. Fyodorov said in a statement. "But the development of our banks can be hampered if there is a very rapid entry of foreign banks."
Full licenses were awarded two weeks ago to Citibank, Chase Manhattan Bank International, ABN Amro Bank. Russian-Turkish Bank, and Yapi Toko Bank.
Credit Lyonnais, Societe Generale, Dresdner Bank AG, Banque Nationale de Paris, and Bank of China already had licenses.
