Russia is planning to boost its credentials as a global financial center by ramping up its regulatory activities, says the Kommersant daily.

In a move to re-consider its supervision patterns of the financial markets, the government is looking at the Central Bank and the Federal Service for Financial Markets as two possible candidates for the role of the future mega-regulator. Other options are possible, including a re-distribution of control functions between the two institutions.

According to the Kommersant, the government held two closed meetings on the issue and instructed the Finance Minister to elaborate the blueprint within two weeks.

Although sources within the government cited by the newspaper tipped Alexey Kudrin as the head of the nascent body, the former finance minister denied the rumours. Talking to journalists, he stood up for the Central Bank, saying any attempts to curtail its independence would have a negative impact.

Reaction from the national financial institutions, including banks and insurance companies, has been mixed. While some say the government has missed the station or point out that changing horses in midstream is wrong, others appear to show no clear emotions.

“Generally, it’s a good idea. In fact, regulation can be administered both ways. To be honest, I don’t see any need to set up a global mega-regulator. The system in place is fine,” VTB Bank CEO Andrey Kostin said.

Russia-IC will continue to follow developments on this story, and we might publish one as early as tomorrow since the deadline for the Finance Ministry runs out this Tuesday.