Stolichny Bank, one of Russia's largest commercial banks, launched Thursday a new home-loan program on the heels of a presidential decree that lays a legal foundation for mortgages.At a ceremony to open the bank's 12th branch in Moscow on Thursday, branch director Andrei Dubrovin said that the bank will offer 18-month loans in hard currency to finance purchases of new housing. Annual interest rates on the mortgage loans will range from 24 to 30 percent depending upon the amount of the loan, which will be limited to 70 percent of the estimated market value of the property.Bank officials acknowledged that the interest rates, though about 10 percent lower than average market rates, will be affordable only for the bank's wealthiest clients. The loans will initially be offered only through the new branch, located on Sivtsev Brazhek Pereulok near Novy Arbat.President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree last week creating a legal basis for long-term mortgage loans, but experts suggested that banks would be reluctant to lend money to individuals. One of the experts' misgivings was that the eviction of defaulters would be almost impossible under Russia's Soviet-era residency permits system, which requires every citizen to be registered at a certain address.However, under the terms of the Stolichny Bank's mortgage loans, the borrower cannot be registered in a flat until the loan is paid out. Dubrovin said that the bank has teamed up with Russia's leading real estate, consultancy and insurance firms to provide clients with a wide variety of available housing, verify the legal status of a particular apartment and provide advice to would-be homeowners. "Checking a flat's ownership status is very important today," he said. "Quite often a purchaser, only a few days after buying a flat, finds out that somebody else is registered there." The bank and its partners will also facilitate registration of home purchases with the government, a process that usually takes several days and can be prohibitively expensive.The new branch will offer Stolichny Bank's regular services, which range from processing utility bills to cashing travelers' checks, Dubrovin said. The branch is equipped with two 24-hour automatic teller machines for holders of the bank's STB car