Regional bankers discuss banking sector development with the Bank of Russia Governor

Heads of regional banks and bank associations discussed the development of the banking sector at the traditional December meeting with Elvira Nabiullina, the Bank of Russia Governor.

Attending the meeting were Garegin Tosunyan, President of the Association of Russian Banks, Dmitry Tulin, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, Vasily Pozdyshev, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, Olga Skorobogatova, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Russia, Alexey Guznov, Director of the Legal Department, and Anna Orlenko, Director of the Banking Supervision Department.

‘The Russian economy has gone through tough two years of adjustment to new conditions. The banking system had to meet the economy’s needs. Despite a challenging environment, the banking system has managed to adequately respond to these challenges,’ said Elvira Nabiullina. ‘We can see banks’ profits recovering. Gradual revival in lending is yet to become sustainable. We can see a good sign in stabilisation of overdue loans, and believe that the banking system has enough capital stock to build up lending.’

The meeting touched upon the introduction of proportional regulation, which provides for a new type of banks holding a basic licence.

Elvira Nabiullina emphasised that the new model is a soft transformation of banking business. It provides for more risk avoidance amid softer regulation. The Bank of Russia intends to introduce it in cooperation with the banking community.

Bankers proposed improvements to Bank of Russia regulations, discussed with the regulator  AML/CTF-related operations and prospective introduction of new technologies for cooperation with supervisory divisions of the Bank of Russia, including a remote access through personal account.