Yeltsin Bank, Tax Decrees Fail to Please

In his attempts to decree an end to two international economic disputes -- one over banking and the other over taxes -- President Boris Yeltsin may have missed the mark in both cases, Russian and Western officials said Tuesday.Under a banking decree signed last week by Yeltsin, seven foreign banks that had previously obtained licenses to operate in Russia are now able to do business with Russian companies and residents.But five other banks, including two of the largest U.S. banks, Chase Manhattan and Citibank, remain subject to foreign banking restrictions, according to Larisa Zolotuchina, a Central Bank spokeswoman. Meanwhile, a separate decree that exempts equipment bought with foreign credits, including loans from international financial organizations, from a 23 percent value-added tax, did not appear to meet World Bank conditions for the release of $1.2 billion in loans critical to the Russian oil sector.The World Bank has repeatedly said it did not want a special exemption for its loans from the tax, yet Yeltsin's decree appeared to be just such an exemption."If the government has made a policy decision to support the sector, the entire sector should get this support," said a World Bank official who asked not to be named.The banking decree, signed Friday, lifts restrictions imposed last year that prohibited licensed foreign banks from dealing with Russian companies and residents. Zolotuchina said the restrictions now do not apply to ABN/Amro and ING Bank of Holland, German-French joint venture BNP Dresdner, France's Credit Lyonais and Banque Soci?t? Generale Vostok, Credit Suisse of Switzerland and Bank of China.U.S. banks have been left out because the decree lifts limitations only for banks from countries that have working bilateral investment agreements with Russia, which the United States does not yet have.The United States has negotiated such a treaty and it has been ratified by the U.S. Senate. But the treaty awaits approval by the Russian parliament.The ruling could anger U.S. officials, who have previously complained to Russian officials about the restrictions."No one likes discrimination and no on likes discrimination that is singling out one group of countries over others," said a Western diplomat, who asked not to be named. Citibank and Chase Manhattan declined to comment.The restrictions also remain in place for the Bank of Austria, Yappa Kredi of Turkey and the Russian Turkish Bank, Zolotuchina said.The Yeltsin decree further stipulates that new licenses will not be granted to banks from countries that close their doors to Russian institutions.Michael Emerson, head of the Moscow office of the European Union, said the decree appeared to fulfill a Yeltsin promise made earlier this year to lift restrictions on foreign banks. He said that if EU officials in Brussels concurred, the way would be clear for a far-reaching trade and political agreement between Russia and the EU to be signed in Greece this month.The two key remaining points of contention in negotiations for the partnership and cooperation agreement between Russia and the European Union had been Russian access to the European nuclear fuel market and Russia's restrictions on foreign banks.