The Bank of Russia has proposed to revise the criteria for classifying companies as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the regulator said in a statement.

According to the Central Bank, at the moment the register of SMEs includes a significant number of companies that fall within the perimeter of large industrial groups, housing developers and banks. This leads to negative consequences: a distortion of the indicators of this segment of the economy, a decrease in the efficiency of the distribution of state support, and the risks of regulatory arbitrage, the Central Bank notes.

„Members of the Bank of Russia Working Group on Financing Small and Medium Enterprises discussed possible ways to solve the problem, including options for revising the criteria for classifying companies as SMEs,” the regulator said in a statement.

The final proposals will be formulated taking into account the opinions of business associations, banking associations, the expert community and interested ministries and departments, the Central Bank emphasized.