The Central Bank of the Russian Federation will make amendments to new operational risk assessment rules it wants to introduce for local lenders, after they voiced a number of concerns regarding the upcoming changes, Kommersant reported Oct. 17.

After a recent meeting with the Association of Russian Banks, the central bank agreed to introduce a differentiated approach to its draft proposal on the new requirements, taking into account the size of banks and the type of an operating license they hold.

The regulator also expressed readiness to implement the new rules gradually over the next two years, in line with the proposal of the association, which suggested that large banks with assets exceeding 500 billion Russian rubles should adhere to the new requirements by Dec. 31, 2019, while smaller lenders should comply with them by Dec. 31, 2020.

The regulator also said that banks could use their existing risk classification systems in the operational risk assessment procedures carried out under the new rules. It also said it is receptive to the association's comments regarding the materiality of losses stemming from the implementation of operational risks, although the issue will be subject to further discussions, according to the newspaper.

As of Oct. 17, US$1 was equivalent to 65.36 Russian rubles.