Russian bailiffs flood banks with 12.8 million debtor inquiries in a single day

The National Council of the Financial Market (NSFR), a banking lobby group, described the surge in a letter to Federal Bailiff Service (FSSP) head Dmitry Aristov, according to Kommersant and RBC, which reviewed the document.

One regional bank received 12.8 million inquiries on September 19 alone — the same volume it normally handles in a month. Another large bank was sent about 22 million requests over the four days.

According to the NSFR, the number of inquiries during that period exceeded normal levels by at least 10 to 12 times, and at some banks by 30 times. The Association of Banks of Russia put the spike at up to 48 times on certain days.

Yelena Samokhina, director of the banking development department at the Association of Banks of Russia, said more than 90% of the requests concerned people who did not hold accounts at those banks. Banks had to spend resources verifying the data and sending back responses confirming the absence of accounts.

Under the law, banks must respond to FSSP inquiries within three days. Late responses carry fines of 50,000 to 100,000 rubles per request. NSFR head Andrei Yemelin noted that given the number of requests, the fines could multiply to levels threatening the financial stability of some banks.

The NSFR asked the service to distribute requests evenly, to first establish through the Federal Tax Service which banks hold debtors' accounts, and not to fine banks for delays between September 18 and 21. The association also proposed giving at least ten days' notice of any sharp increase in the number of requests.

Experts interviewed by Kommersant believe the volume of requests may be linked to technical errors. "The service itself has previously acknowledged that it sends requests again if no confirmation of receipt has come from the bank. If the confirmations were lost, the automation could have dumped the entire accumulated queue and duplicates onto the banks," said Mikhail Bryukhanov, chairman of the board of directors of Pervouralskbank.

The FSSP told the publication it was acting within the law. The Central Bank said it had received the NSFR's appeal and would review it in accordance with established procedure.