According to former Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, who currently leads the Institute of Transition Economy, there is a possibility of a banking crisis in Russia within the next three to four years. He underlined that monetary authorities seem to be aware of that problem and try to control it, but the risk still remains. The main reason is the existence of lavishly extended credits to state-controlled companies given by state-owned banks. Gaidar warned that if prices for energy resources on the world market change, this could lead to serious financial troubles and increase indebtedness of the banking sector. He reminded that similar situation took place in 1985 when oil prices fell by 6.1 times over a year and in 1997-1998 when they decreased two times leading to a banking crisis. At the same time, he dismissed the fears that foreign banks would pose threat to Russia's banking system.