Yerevan /Mediamax/.  Related-party lending (lending of affiliated parties) is the structural drawback of the CIS banks, the study conducted by Moody\'s international rating agency reads.

Moody\'s notes that over the recent year Russian banks have somehow reduced the volume of credits issued to insiders. According to the data provided by the agency, positive trends are also registered in Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Armenia. At the same time, the banks of Azerbaijan, Belarus and Uzbekistan increased related-party lending.

According to the Yevgeni Tarzimanov, Moody\'s Vice-President and Senior Analyst, high credit risks associated with related-party lending are one of the key reasons why CIS countries\' banks have low ratings.

\'\'Related-party lending was also one of the key factors which gave rise to the half of 23 banking defaults in the CIS during the crisis\'\', he noted.