MOSCOW, March 29 - RAPSI. A draft law establishing the institution of financial ombudsman will be submitted to the State Duma this spring, Regional Banks Association President Anatoly Aksakov said on Thursday.

The financial ombudsman is supposed to settle out-of-court minor disputes between financial organizations and private individuals.

According to the draft law concept, decisions passed by the financial ombudsman will be binding on financial organizations.

The draft law authors expect the ombudsman to consider at the initial stage minor claims amounting to 100,000 rubles ($3,300).

The ombudsman will serve private individuals free of charge.

The number of lawsuits filed by people in financial area has jumped 50 times over the recent five years. According to the Supreme Court, people lodged over 260,000 consumer protection lawsuits against financial organizations in 2011.

President of the Association of Lawyers of Russia Dmitry Pozorov believes the new institution will help to reduce the courts' caseload and relieve them of minor disputes.