The Central Bank, inundated with angry letters from Russians who have lost money to failed commercial banks, has sought to distance itself from the fray by issuing a clarification of its responsibilities, a bank spokeswoman said Wednesday.


The statement, issued earlier this week, stresses that the Central Bank bears no responsibility for commercial banks' obligations to their clients, and suggests depositors look to the courts for redress.


"We issued this statement amid an influx of angry letters from investors in commercial banks who are trying to blame their losses on the Central Bank," said Central Bank spokeswoman Natalia Khomenko. "Regulating the market and paying banks' debts are two completely different issues."


According to the statement, "Clients are free to choose a bank ... and have all rights to file suit when banks do not meet their obligations." It adds that the Central Bank is not responsible for liquidating the assets of insolvent commercial banks.


Khomenko said the statement did not mean the Central Bank was abandoning plans to mitigate a widely forecast crash in Russia's banking system. Earlier this year, amid predictions that as many as half of Russia's 2,500 commercial banks could fail due to bad loans and poor management, the Central Bank announced it would set up a rescue fund and impose outside managers on ailing commercial banks.


"Many banks got into trouble because they are run by inexperienced businessmen, so outside management can pull them out of the crisis," Khomenko said. She added that "independent professionals," not Central Bank officials, would take over the banks.


The Central Bank has also asked some of Russia's largest commercial banks to salvage smaller banks by taking them over and turning them into branches.