Recently, Standard & Poor’s published the report, where the rating agency assessed Russia’s bank system saying that “it became more stable, however, we should make a range of stipulations to state this fact”. Though, despite its “youth”, the Russian bank sector has experienced already three crises, in 1995, 1998 and 2004, and the agency warns that it is too early to speak about the significant changes within the sector. However, this statement doesn’t impede the Russian banks to solve successfully the problems, caused by the world liquidity crisis, due to the support of Russia’s government and the stockholders.

Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared that in 2008, the Russian government wouldn’t increase the stake of the capital inflow to the economy, since “it poses the additional problems” with the inflation and the volume of money supply. Russia’s Central Bank (CB) and the government can afford such strategy for a year or two, but no later than 2011, though, from the end of 2009 the level of the capital inflow will determine both the inflation and the ruble rate.

The stockholders of the Russian RosEvroGroup have found the buyer for its bank asset. The largest bank of China – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China – will purchase 100% of RosEvroBank (former joint-stock bank Loubyanka). The investment of the Chinese bank becomes the first purchase in Russia made by the investors from the Asia-Pacific region.

Rating agency Standard & Poor`s leveled one group down the country risks of Russia’s banking system. S&P reacted to support the Bank of Russia had rendered to the system within financial crisis. On the other hand, the agency still considers that if recession happens, around the half of the Russian banking assets can become troublesome.

Russian banks cut growth rates of loans’ volumes given to individuals, as it follows from Bank of Russia statistics. Home loans and mortgage make an exception, as these segments continue to grow rapidly. Experts explain this by banks reorientation towards the more stable segment of the long-term lending.

Gazprombank published the activity results by the Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) of the first quarter of 2008. The bank income is almost 30 times down as compared to the analogical period previous year. However, the analysts assume such results of the Russian banks rather positive on the background of large write-offs of western financial organizations.

Bank of Russia (CB) is ready to facilitate small and middle banks to attract long resources by means of mortgage bonds issue. CB began to elaborate on the corresponding amendments to its own regulations. In the experts’ opinion, the amendments will act after mortgage bonds will be included in Bank of Russia Lombard list

Supervisory board of Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank or VEB) has approved the development strategy of the state corporation for 2008-2012 period. According to the document, by this period end the bank loan portfolio would increase four times – to RUR 850 billion “due to state investment projects participation in the financing”. VEB would need its own regional chain for their realization. And the bank intends to create it already by 2010.

The banking system will pass the first this year borderline of quarters through, maximum unfavorable from the viewpoint of tax payments, with the rather lower than expected increase of the money market rates and demand for the centralized refinancing

The Savings Bank withdrew from the top three of the companies that are the leaders of the Russian stock market by capitalization. The mortgage crisis resulted in that the securities of financial organizations became the most risky investments for investors and as the result the capitalization of the largest Russian bank went 21% down for a year.