Although it has been underpaying for its gas, Ukraine says it was also undercharging Gazprom for gas transit to Europe.

ECONOMIST: Russia, Ukraine and gas

But the odds are that the bank is either lowering its credit standards or undercharging for the risks it is taking.

ECONOMIST: Simple rules may be best for monitoring banks

The scale of the undercharging became embarrassingly obvious last October, when two of the new licence-holders sold stakes to foreign operators prepared to pay handsomely for access to their spectrum.

ECONOMIST: After years of delay, India launches 3G telephony��sort of