Banks to provide immediate access to individual's accounts after bankruptcy proceedings are completed

To timely receive information on the completion of individuals' bankruptcy proceedings, debt restructuring or asset sales, banks should regularly monitor the Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Data (the UFRBD). This is the recommendation that the Bank of Russia has sent to credit institutions.

After the information on the completion of bankruptcy proceedings has been published in the UFRBD, the law provides banks and third parties with five business days to familiarise themselves with it and take necessary steps — in particular, to re-enable the individual's access to their bank accounts. The Bank of Russia draws banks' attention to the fact that the implementation of an automated system will help to avoid delays, which might be crucial for a person caught up in a difficult life situation. The system will both reduce the bank's labour costs and help the lender not to miss the information important to the client.