Law on microfinance activities 151 fz. Legislative framework of the Russian Federation. General provisions of the law on the activities of microfinance organizations

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Microfinance is a type of activity whose main goal is to provide financial services to small businesses and individual entrepreneurship. In the economic field, microfinance refers to a type of financial and credit relationship between small businesses and financial organizations.

• Basic principles of funding sources:
• Returnability;
• Short term;
• Payment;
• Confidence;

Intended use.

Each microfinance organization strives to create an effective and rapidly developing system of lending to small businesses. Careful work on the provision of services contributes to additional stimulation of production and rational distribution of services and goods of individual entrepreneurship.

Microfinance is a flexible form of a standard bank loan. This type of lending allows you to start your own business without starting capital. The activities of microfinance organizations are regulated by law. Federal Law “On microfinance activities and microfinance organizations”

was adopted by the State Duma on June 18, 2010, and approved by the Federation Council 5 days later of the same year. Legislative provisions define the framework that facilitates the proper implementation of microfinance activities. Regulatory legal acts establish the procedure, size and conditions for providing credit to customers.

The latest changes to the Federal Law “On Microfinance Organizations” were made on May 1, 2017.

• Brief content of the Federal Law “On microfinance activities and microfinance organizations”:
• Chapter 1 - Describes the general provisions of this Federal Law;
• Chapter 2 - Lists the conditions under which the activities of a microfinance organization are carried out;
• Chapter 3 - Describes the procedure for carrying out the activities of a microfinance organization;
• Chapter 4 - Regulates and controls the activities of microfinance organizations;

Chapter 5 - Describes the final provisions.

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• Federal law has a legal framework that is determined by:
• Civil Code of the Russian Federation;
• Constitution of the Russian Federation;
• This Federal Law;

Microfinance organizations operate in accordance with the established procedure in accordance with this legislation. In addition, microfinance companies provide clients with consumer services, the legislative provisions of which are contained in the Federal Law “On Consumer Credit”.

Credit cooperatives, organizations, pawnshops and other legal entities operate in the field of microfinance activities in accordance with the procedure provided for by this Federal Law 151.

To download the latest version of the law with changes, additions and amendments, go to.

Latest changes in the law “On microfinance organizations”

As mentioned above, the last changes were made to the law on May 1, 2017. Article 7 was supplemented with a new paragraph.

Article 7

Part 1, Article 7 is presented in a new edition. The paragraph lists situations in which the Bank of Russia removes information about a legal entity from the state register.

The following circumstances may lead to exclusion from the register:

• The microfinance organization was liquidated;
• The microfinance company received the status of a bank with an initial license;
• MFO employees received an application in accordance with Part 1.4 of this article.

Amendments were made to paragraphs: 1.10, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13.

To obtain the status of a bank with a basic license or a non-bank credit company, special documents are submitted to the Bank of Russia. During the collection of official papers and the preparation of a number of documents, it is prohibited to attract funds from individuals and individual entrepreneurs if they are not the founders of this company.

It is possible to attract deposits from individuals after obtaining the status of a bank with a standard license. Manipulations with funds of individual entrepreneurs and individuals can be carried out no earlier than 24 months from the date of registration of changes that were made to the charter of the microfinance company.

A microfinance company that has changed its activities to the status of a bank with a standard license is able to enter into transactions that are not permissible for a bank with a basic license. Similar agreements are concluded with clients even after the termination of contracts. The maximum period of work with company visitors is 5 years from the date of change of status, with the exception of loan agreements that were signed before the change of license.

A microfinance company that has changed its status can continue to work with its clients if contracts with them were concluded before the change in the organization’s status. Work with such clients will continue until the originally established termination date. The initially established price in the contract is not subject to change.

Below we consider articles whose content has not changed during the last edition. However, they contain important points.

Article 4.1

Article 4.1 describes the requirements that apply to the management bodies of a microfinance organization.

The heads of a microfinance organization cannot be:

• People who performed the duties of a manager at the time of a gross violation of Federal law;
• Persons who have been suspended from office for a certain period and this period has not yet passed;
• Persons who have an outstanding or unexpunged conviction for a crime in the field of economic activity or against government authority.

The head of a microfinance organization, upon the occurrence of the circumstances specified in the article, is considered to be removed from office by a decision of the court or an authorized body.

Article 8

Article 8 lists the main conditions that facilitate the provision of microloans.

Small loans are provided by microfinance organizations in rubles (the currency of the Russian Federation). The microfinance company independently establishes the procedure and conditions for providing microloans, which are approved by the management body of the microfinance company.

The rules for provision must be publicly available.

They must contain the following information:

• The procedure for submitting an application for a microloan, as well as the procedure for considering the application;
• The procedure for concluding a microfinance loan agreement and demonstrating payment schedules on the basis of which monthly payments must be made;
• Other conditions that are established by the local documents of the microfinance company.

A microcredit company can provide a small microloan to a client. Employees of the organization track the expenditure of funds, which should be used only for their intended purpose.

The conditions that determine the obligations and rights of the parties to the signed agreement are not regulated by the rules for providing microloans. If the rules establish theses that contradict the terms of the microloan agreement, then you should be guided by the provisions of the microloan agreement.

Article 11

Article 11 lists the rights and obligations of the borrower that correspond to the microloan agreement.

The borrower is required to provide official papers and additional information requested by employees of the microfinance organization.

The borrower has other rights and may bear other obligations in accordance with the Federal Law and the terms of the microloan agreement.

To download the latest edition with additions and changes, go to.

Valid Editorial from 30.11.2011

FEDERAL LAW of July 2, 2010 N 151-FZ (as amended on November 30, 2011) “ON MICROFINANCE ACTIVITIES AND MICROFINANCE ORGANIZATIONS”

3) copies of the constituent documents of the legal entity;

4) copies of the decision on the creation of a legal entity and on the approval of its constituent documents;

5) copies of the decision on the election (appointment) of the management bodies of a legal entity, indicating their composition on the day of submission of documents to the authorized body;

6) information about the founders of a legal entity in the form approved by the authorized body;

7) information about the address (location) of the permanent executive body of the legal entity through which communication with the legal entity is carried out;

8) extracts from the register of foreign legal entities of the relevant country of origin or another document of equal legal force confirming the legal status of the founder - a foreign legal entity (for legal entities with foreign founders).

4.1. When considering an application for entering information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations, the authorized body requests from the federal executive body that carries out state registration of legal entities, individuals as individual entrepreneurs and peasant (farm) households, information about the state registration of the applicant as a legal entity person, if the applicant does not submit a copy of the certificate of state registration as a legal entity on his own initiative.

5. Constituent documents of non-profit organizations submitted to the authorized body in accordance with this article must contain a provision that microfinance activities are one of the types of activities carried out by a non-profit organization, as well as information that income received from microfinance activities must be directed by a non-profit organization to carry out microfinance activities and support them, including repayment of loans and (or) loans received by the microfinance organization and interest on them, for other social purposes or charitable, cultural, educational or scientific purposes.

6. Documents of foreign legal entities submitted in accordance with this article must be presented in the state (official) language of the corresponding foreign state with a translation into Russian and certified in the prescribed manner.

7. The authorized body, in the absence of grounds established by this Federal Law for refusing to enter information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations, no later than fourteen working days from the date of receipt of the documents specified in part 4 of this article, enters information about the legal entity into the state register register of microfinance organizations and issues the applicant a certificate of entry of information about the legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations.

8. The form of the certificate on entering information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations is established by the authorized body.

9. No legal entity in the Russian Federation, with the exception of legal entities included in the state register of microfinance organizations, may use the phrase “microfinance organization” in its name.

10. A legal entity included in the state register of microfinance organizations is obliged to inform the authorized body about changes made to its constituent documents within thirty days from the date of state registration of these changes in the prescribed manner.

1. Entry of information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations may be refused on the following grounds:

1) non-compliance of documents submitted to the authorized body for inclusion in the state register of microfinance organizations with the requirements of this Federal Law and regulatory legal acts adopted in accordance with it;

2) submission of an incomplete set of documents provided for by this Federal Law, required for inclusion in the state register of microfinance organizations, or documents containing unreliable information;

3) exclusion of information about this legal entity from the state register of microfinance organizations on the basis provided for in Part 1 of Article 7 of this Federal Law, during the year preceding the date of filing an application to enter information about the legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations.

2. The decision to refuse to enter information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations must contain a reasoned justification for this refusal, indicating all the reasons that served as the basis for this refusal. The decision to refuse to enter information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations is communicated to the applicant in writing no later than fourteen working days from the date the authorized body receives the documents specified in Article 5 of this Federal Law.

3. Refusal to enter information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations, as well as the failure of the authorized body to make an appropriate decision within the prescribed period, may be appealed in court.

4. Refusal to enter information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations is not an obstacle to re-submitting an application to enter information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations. Repeated submission of such an application and adoption of a decision on it are carried out in the manner prescribed by this Federal Law.

1. The exclusion of information about a legal entity from the state register of microfinance organizations is carried out by the authorized body on the following grounds:

1) submitting a corresponding application to a microfinance organization accompanied by a certificate of entering information about a legal entity into the state register of microfinance organizations;

2) making a decision of the authorized body in the event of repeated violations by a microfinance organization of this Federal Law and (or) the rules for providing microloans approved by the microfinance organization during a calendar year;

3) liquidation of a microfinance organization as a legal entity.

2. Exclusion of information about a legal entity from the state register of microfinance organizations on other grounds, except for the grounds specified in Part 1 of this article, is not allowed.

3. The exclusion of information about a legal entity from the state register of microfinance organizations can be appealed in court.

4. A legal entity is considered excluded from the state register of microfinance organizations from the date of submission to the authorized body of an application to exclude information about a legal entity from the state register of microfinance organizations, or from the date the authorized body makes a decision to exclude information about a legal entity from the state register of microfinance organizations, or from the date of liquidation of the microfinance organization as a legal entity.

5. If information about a legal entity is excluded from the state register of microfinance organizations on the grounds specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of part 1 of this article, all microloan agreements previously concluded by such a legal entity remain in force.

1. Microloans are provided by microfinance organizations in the currency of the Russian Federation in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation on the basis of a microloan agreement.

2. The procedure and conditions for providing microloans are established by the microfinance organization in the rules for providing microloans, approved by the management body of the microfinance organization.

3. The rules for providing microloans must be available to all persons for review and contain the basic conditions for providing microloans, including the following information:

1) the procedure for filing an application for a microloan and the procedure for its consideration;

2) the procedure for concluding a microloan agreement and the procedure for providing the borrower with a payment schedule;

3) other conditions established by the internal documents of the microfinance organization and not being the terms of the microloan agreement.

4. A microloan agreement may provide for the possibility of a microfinance organization providing a targeted microloan while simultaneously granting the microfinance organization the right to exercise control over the intended use of the microloan and imposing on the borrower the obligation to ensure the possibility of exercising such control.

5. The rules for providing microloans cannot establish conditions that define the rights and obligations of the parties under the microloan agreement. If the rules for providing microloans establish conditions that contradict the terms of the microloan agreement concluded with the borrower, the provisions of the microloan agreement are applied.

1. A microfinance organization has the right:

1) request from the person who submitted the application for a microloan the documents and information necessary to resolve the issue of providing a microloan and fulfillment of obligations under the microloan agreement, in the manner and under the conditions established by the rules for the provision of microloans;

2) motivated to refuse to enter into a microloan agreement;

3) carry out, along with microfinance activities, other activities, taking into account the restrictions established by this Federal Law, other federal laws and constituent documents, including issuing other loans and providing other services in the manner established by federal laws and constituent documents;

4) attract funds in the form of loans and (or) credits, voluntary (charitable) contributions and donations, as well as in other forms not prohibited by federal laws, taking into account the restrictions established by Article 12 of this Federal Law;

5) have other rights in accordance with federal laws, other regulatory legal acts, constituent documents and the terms of concluded microloan agreements.

2. A microfinance organization is obliged:

1) provide the person who applied for a microloan with complete and reliable information about the procedure and conditions for providing a microloan, about his rights and obligations related to receiving a microloan;

2) place a copy of the rules for providing microloans in a place accessible for viewing and familiarization with them by any interested person, and on the Internet;

3) inform the person who submitted the application for a microloan, before receiving the microloan, about the terms of the microloan agreement, about the possibility and procedure for changing its terms at the initiative of the microfinance organization and the borrower, about the list and amount of all payments related to the receipt, servicing and repayment of the microloan, as well as in violation of the terms of the microloan agreement;

4) guarantee the confidentiality of the transactions of their borrowers. All employees of a microfinance organization are required to maintain secrecy about the transactions of borrowers of the microfinance organization, as well as other information established by the microfinance organization, except for cases established by federal laws;

5) disclose to an unlimited number of persons information about persons who have a significant (direct or indirect) influence on decisions made by the management bodies of a microfinance organization, in the manner established by the constituent documents;

6) bear other responsibilities in accordance with federal laws, other regulatory legal acts, constituent documents and terms of concluded microloan agreements.

1. A person who has submitted an application for a microloan to a microfinance organization has the right to:

1) get acquainted with the rules for providing microloans approved by the microfinance organization;

2) receive complete and reliable information about the procedure and conditions for providing a microloan, including information about all payments related to receiving, servicing and repaying the microloan.

2. A person who has submitted an application for a microloan to a microfinance organization is obliged to provide documents and information requested by the microfinance organization in accordance with Part 1 of Article 9 of this Federal Law, other federal laws and rules for providing microloans, including those necessary for the microfinance organization to fulfill the requirements established by federal laws.

3. A person who has submitted an application for a microloan to a microfinance organization has other rights and may bear other responsibilities in accordance with federal laws.

1. The borrower has the right to dispose of funds received under a microloan agreement in the manner and on the terms established by the microloan agreement.

2. The borrower is obliged to provide documents and information requested by the microfinance organization in accordance with Article 10 of this Federal Law.

3. The borrower has other rights and may bear other obligations in accordance with federal laws and the terms of the concluded microloan agreement.

A microfinance organization does not have the right to:

1) attract funds from individuals. This restriction does not apply to raising funds from individuals:

a) who are founders (members, participants, shareholders) of a microfinance organization;

b) providing funds to a microfinance organization on the basis of a loan agreement in the amount of one million five hundred thousand rubles or more under one loan agreement with one lender;

2) act as a guarantor for the obligations of its founders (members, participants, shareholders), as well as otherwise ensure the fulfillment of obligations by these persons;

3) without a preliminary decision of the highest management body of the microfinance organization on approval of the relevant transactions, enter into transactions related to the alienation or the possibility of alienation of property owned by the microfinance organization or otherwise entailing a decrease in the book value of the microfinance organization’s property by ten or more percent of the book value of the assets of the microfinance organization, determined according to the financial (accounting) statements of the microfinance organization for the last reporting period. A transaction of a microfinance organization made in violation of this requirement may be declared invalid at the claim of the microfinance organization or at the claim of at least a third of its founders (members, participants, shareholders);

4) issue loans in foreign currency;

5) unilaterally change interest rates and (or) the procedure for determining them under microloan agreements, commission fees and validity periods of these agreements;

6) apply penalties for early repayment of the microloan to a borrower who is an individual, including an individual entrepreneur, who has fully or partially repaid the microloan amount to a microfinance organization and has previously notified the microfinance organization in writing of such intention at least ten calendar days in advance;

7) carry out any types of professional activities in the securities market;

8) issue a microloan (microloans) to the borrower if the amount of the borrower’s obligations to the microfinance organization under microloan agreements in the event of such a microloan (microloans) exceeds one million rubles.

1. A microfinance organization has the right to insure risks arising in its activities, including the risk of liability for violation of a contract, in mutual insurance companies and insurance organizations, with the exception of insurance organizations in which the microfinance organization is a founder (participant, shareholder). The choice of a mutual insurance company and (or) an insurance organization is carried out by decision of the management body of the microfinance organization.

2. A microfinance organization may form target funds, the procedure for the formation and use of which is determined by the internal regulatory documents of the microfinance organization.

1. State authorities and local governments do not have the right to interfere in the activities of microfinance organizations, except in cases provided for by federal laws.

2. State regulation of the activities of microfinance organizations is carried out by the authorized body.

3. The authorized body performs the following functions:

1) maintains the state register of microfinance organizations and self-regulatory organizations of microfinance organizations in the manner prescribed by this Federal Law, other federal laws and other regulatory legal acts;

2) receives from microfinance organizations the necessary information about their activities, as well as financial statements in the manner and with frequency established by federal laws, monitors the fulfillment by microfinance organizations of the requirements established by this Federal Law;

3) interacts with self-regulatory organizations of microfinance organizations.

4. In relation to a microfinance organization, the authorized body:

1) requests and receives information on the financial and economic activities of microfinance organizations from state statistics bodies, the federal executive body carrying out state registration of legal entities, and from other state control and supervision bodies;

2) requests and receives information about the microfinance organization from the unified state register of legal entities;

3) ensures compliance of information about the microfinance organization in the state register of microfinance organizations with information about the specified organization in the unified state register of legal entities, including information about the liquidation of the organization;

4) carries out, in accordance with the procedure established by the legislation of the Russian Federation, verification of compliance of the activities of microfinance organizations with the requirements of this Federal Law and other federal laws;

5) establishes and controls compliance by microfinance organizations that attract funds from individuals and legal entities in the form of loans, economic standards for the adequacy of their own funds and liquidity;

6) requires the management bodies of the microfinance organization to eliminate identified violations;

7) gives the microfinance organization binding instructions to eliminate identified violations;

8) excludes information about a microfinance organization from the state register of microfinance organizations in the event of repeated violations by the microfinance organization of the requirements of this Federal Law and (or) the rules for providing microloans approved by the microfinance organization during a calendar year;

9) exercises other rights in accordance with this Federal Law.

5. A microfinance organization has the right to appeal the actions (inaction) of the authorized body to the arbitration court at the location of the microfinance organization.

Microfinance organizations are required to submit quarterly documents to the authorized body containing a report on microfinance activities and the personnel of their governing bodies. The forms and deadlines for submitting these documents are determined by the authorized body.

Microfinance organizations have the right in the manner and under the conditions established by Federal Law of December 30, 2004 N 218-FZ

On the Zakonbase website you will find the FEDERAL LAW dated 07/02/2010 N 151-FZ (as amended on 11/30/2011) “ON MICROFINANCE ACTIVITIES AND MICROFINANCE ORGANIZATIONS” in the latest and complete version, in which all changes and amendments have been made. This guarantees the relevance and reliability of the information.

At the same time, you can download the FEDERAL LAW of 07/02/2010 N 151-FZ (as amended on 11/30/2011) “ON MICROFINANCE ACTIVITIES AND MICROFINANCE ORGANIZATIONS” completely free of charge, both in full and in separate chapters.

Microfinance organizations are mainly engaged in transactions involving the provision of financial services to individuals with small businesses or individual entrepreneurs. For such institutions there are certain conditions and requirements for conducting activities. To regulate the economy in small businesses, an appropriate

General provisions of the law on the activities of microfinance organizations

The Federal Law on microfinance organizations was adopted by the State Duma on June 18, 2010, and approved by the Federation Council on June 23, 2010. The last changes to it were made on May 1, 2017. Federal Law 151 contains 5 chapters and 17 articles. This law controls and regulates the processes and nuances of microfinance activities, such as the provision of microfinance. loans, determination of the status of the organization, rights, powers and obligations of the Central Bank of Russia. The law also regulates the processes of microfinance institutions and their control.

Summary of Federal Law No. 151 on microfinance activities and organizations:

• The first chapter describes the general provisions of the law. The goals, objectives and scope of regulation of the law are given. A list of terms and concepts used in the law and their definitions is given. Other laws, acts and regulations governing the described area are listed;
• The second chapter outlines the conditions and requirements under which microfinance operates and develops its activities. organizations. The register, accounting and registration of this type of institutions are described. The requirements for supervisory authorities and requirements for founders of this type of company are listed. The methods and procedure by which companies and institutions acquire microfinance status are described. The reasons why legal entities may be refused to be included in the register have been formalized. The process and methods for implementing the exclusion of legal entities are described. persons from the microfinance register. organizations;
• Chapter number three describes the order in which the described institutions carry out their activities. A list of conditions and requirements under which the organization has the right to issue a loan to a person has been drawn up. A list of powers, rights and responsibilities of microfinance institutions is given. A list is also given of the rights and obligations of persons who decide to receive a loan from such an organization and submit an application. And a list of the rights and obligations of the borrower itself is given. Restrictions and prohibitions in the activities of microfinance institutions are listed. The features and nuances of calculating interest on loans in case of overdue payments are outlined. Mandatory insurance, identification of risks and trust fund are described;
• In city four, information on control over this type of organization is provided. Ways to regulate the activities of microfinance institutions. Mandatory provision of information, reporting, methods of providing information on government activities. organs. Legal relations between microfinance firms and credit bureaus;
• In the fifth year, final and additional provisions, conditions and requirements of the law were formalized.

This area is regulated by the described Federal Law, the Constitution of Russia, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Federal Law No. 353 on consumer credits and loans, Russian legislation and other regulations and acts.

Read also about the main provisions of Federal Law 86

Latest changes made to the law

The latest changes to the Federal Law on microfinance organizations were made on May 1, 2017, with the adoption of Federal Law No. 92.

According to the adopted changes there was seventh article added . In the first part of this article, the first paragraph has been changed.

According to the changes, the Central Bank of Russia may exclude information about microfinance from the register. organizations only in cases where:

• This type of institution, such as a legal entity, is being liquidated;
• The institution has received the official status of a bank or the status of a credit organization;
• The organization independently provided an application form for exclusion from the register. The form must comply with the provisions of this article.

With the new version of the law, Article seven was supplemented clause 1.10 . According to this addition, during the period when a microfinance institution has submitted documents to the Central Bank of Russia to obtain a certain status (status of a bank or credit organization), but before the Bank makes a decision, the company does not have the right to accept any funds from individuals or individual entrepreneurs. Funds can only be accepted from the founders or shareholders of the institution.

Was also added point number 1.11 . This paragraph states that the Bank of Russia can allow an organization that has received the status of a bank with a basic license to carry out transactions with funds of individuals only after two years have passed from the date of making changes to the state register.

According to the adopted changes, the seventh article was added clause 1.12 . This paragraph states that if an agreement on certain financial transactions was concluded before the institution received a different status, transactions can be carried out regardless of their type and category. This means that if an agreement was accepted between a microfinance organization and an individual, and then the organization changed its status, operations according to the agreement can continue, despite the prohibition formalized in clause 1.11.

The last change, adopted on May 1, 2017, was to add clause 1.13 in article seven. According to this paragraph, microfin. the organization has the right to continue transactions and operations under agreements accepted before the change in status until the expiration of the period initially established in the agreements. Changes under this type of agreement cannot be made to the initially established price and validity period of the document.

Article 12 of the law on microfinance activities states that this type of organization has certain restrictions on its activities. Among these restrictions are:

• Guarantee for transactions of own founders, or any other way of fulfilling the obligations of the founders;
• It is prohibited to use in any documents the abbreviated or full name of an organization that is similar or completely identical to the name of another financial company;
• Conducting transactions on the alienation of one’s own property without the permission of higher authorities;
• It is prohibited to accrue interest to individual borrowers under loan agreements if the loan repayment period documented in the documents does not exceed a year;
• Issuing any type of loan in foreign currency;
• Issuing a loan to an individual entrepreneur or legal entity. a person if the amount of all debts of this person to the organization exceeds three million rubles;
• Changing the terms of contracts with legal entities. persons or individual entrepreneurs about the interest rate, commissions or validity periods of contracts unilaterally;
• Carrying out any category of activity in the securities market;
• Application of penalties to an individual or individual entrepreneur if the person notified the organization in advance (10 days in advance) about the early repayment of the loan.

Interest rate conditions and other nuances of microfinance activities. organizations are supplemented in clause 12.1.

Text of the latest edition of 151 Federal Law

Federal Law 151 was adopted to establish the operating procedures of microfinance institutions. If a person plans to open his own organization, it is recommended to study the described law. It defines the opening methods, process, conditions and requirements for the activities of such organizations and restrictions.

In Art. 151 of the Federal Law on microfinance activities talks about the legal regulation of the use of microloans in the Russian Federation. Microloans are one of the most popular services in the Russian financial market. Microfinance organizations (MFOs) in Russia have the status of a legal entity, but the specifics of their activities differ significantly from those inherent in large financial organizations, including banks.

In Art. 151 of the Federal Law, microfinance activities have acquired a special legal status. In 2010, the procedure for its regulation was determined at the state level. The activities of all microfinance organizations in Russia are subject to this legislative document, which clearly outlines the size, conditions and procedure for providing microloans.

In Russia, a procedural algorithm has been established at the legislative level, in accordance with which a legal entity planning to carry out activities in the field of microfinance receives permission or a refusal to operate in this segment of the financial market.

What is the difference between macro and micro participants?

The law on microfinance organizations defines a list of legal entities whose activities are considered microfinance.

Among them are not only purely credit organizations that provide loans to citizens, but also pawnshops, housing and savings cooperatives.

Other legal entities also have the right to engage in microfinance activities, since the law does not strictly limit the list of organizations that have the right to work in this segment. But budgetary organizations, according to Russian legislation, do not have the right to take on the functions of microfinance and carry out activities in this area.

Most individuals who are consumers of credit products do not particularly distinguish banks from legal entities providing loans. But there is a difference between the two categories of financial market participants, and a very significant one.

Both banks and microfinance organizations must undergo the state registration procedure and be included in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. This legal norm is legislatively enshrined in Art. 51 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Banks and other credit institutions are required to be registered with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which is not only a purely financial state institution, but also an instrument for regulating processes occurring in the banking sector and related industries. An MFO must be registered with the State. There is Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated March 3, 2011 N 26n, which clearly defines the procedure for maintaining such a register.

• Microfinance organizations can be:
• commercial;

non-profit.

The bank, in turn, cannot receive non-profit status, even if it participates in government projects, pension co-financing programs, non-profit partnerships and associations. The question of the possibility of creating non-profit banks in Russia has repeatedly been raised at the federal level since 2008. But at the moment it remains at the level of a public initiative that has not been implemented in legislative and financial practice.

Commercial microfinance organizations have the right to exist in the form of limited liability companies and joint stock companies. Among the non-profit forms of MFOs in Russia, the most widespread are foundations, autonomous organizations, and partnerships.

In order for a legal entity to have the right to conduct its activities in the field of microcredit, it is necessary that its charter stipulates the corresponding type of activity. If a non-profit partnership issues, for example, microloans to the population, but there is no corresponding clause in the charter of the legal entity, such activity is illegal.

Where is the best place to take out a loan and place deposits?

The law limits the amount of loans that microfinance organizations have the right to issue to borrowers: no more than one million rubles per individual. But this does not mean that the borrower who takes out the largest loan will receive the entire amount. One million rubles is the total amount of the loan and interest for using it.

Even if the borrower plans to repay the microloan early, the amount cannot be increased beyond one million rubles. When calculating the total maximum loan amount, interest is taken into account for the entire period during which the individual, according to the concluded agreement, must repay the microloan.

At the same time, the state does not make a significant distinction between microloans and microcredits, setting a common upper limit between them - one million rubles. The state gave MFOs equal rights with banks and allowed the former to raise funds from individuals in various financial forms:

• loans;
• voluntary contributions;
• donations;
• other income.

But the circle of citizens who, according to Russian law, can transfer loans to microfinance organizations is limited. If an individual becomes a depositor of an MFO, then a loan agreement is concluded between him and the microcredit organization. The founders of a microfinance organization, which also include shareholders, if the organization is a joint-stock company, have the right to act as borrowers.

Microfinance organizations, according to the law, differ from banks not only in terms of the organizational and legal form of ownership.

The rights of microfinance organizations are limited in terms of their provision of borrowing and credit services to citizens. If a person took out an amount from an MFO, he does not have to worry that during the time during which he must repay the loan, the interest rate on the amount issued to him will increase and he will have to pay significantly more than was envisaged at the time of concluding the agreement with the financial organization.

Banks, on the contrary, have the right, according to Russian law, to unilaterally change their interest rates without coordinating these issues with their depositors and consumers of credit products. Repaying an early loan from an MFO is a fairly common practice among borrowers, while repaying loans early to banks turns out to be unprofitable.

Are they focused on different segments of the financial market?

In Russia, microfinance organizations do not have the right to collect fines from individual entrepreneurs and individuals, which is legally allowed for banks. As numerous sociological surveys show, consumers of borrowed and credit products believe that microfinance organizations have a more democratic procedure for obtaining credit and borrowed funds.

This is due to the fact that legal entities conducting microfinance activities are focused on a consumer segment of the market that is different from banks. Most microfinance organizations offer their services to residents of small towns where the banking infrastructure is not yet sufficiently developed.

Microfinance organizations are aimed at providing services to start-up entrepreneurs who find it difficult to obtain credits and loans to develop their own business, since many small business support programs in Russia are declarative in nature, far from economic and financial realities.

But on the other hand, individuals who borrow funds from microfinance organizations are in a less advantageous position compared to bank depositors. Russian legislation obliges banks to insure deposits of individuals. For the activities of microfinance organizations, such a rule is not provided for by law, which significantly increases the risk of non-repayment of funds to individuals by unscrupulous borrowers.

In 2014, federal legislation on microfinance activities underwent significant changes. The state has used legal leverage against violators of the law. Legislators have specified the legal grounds according to which an organization providing microfinance services may be excluded from the state register of microfinance organizations. As soon as an organization is excluded from it, the legal entity loses its status and the right to conduct activities in the field of microfinance.

In Russia, a mechanism has been regulated for informing clients of microfinance organizations about the exclusion of legal entities from the relevant register. In 2014, the legislative provisions on the basis of which microfinance organizations provide information about their borrowers to credit history bureaus were finally clarified.