Ben Aris reports from Moscow on the project finance legal reforms put forward by President Putin that look positive on paper, but in reality are fraught with difficulties.

Ben Aris meets Alexander Levkovsky, Promsvyazbank’s president and chairman of the board, and asks how Promsvyazbank has stormed ahead of its rivals.

Ben Aris in Moscow reports on the frustrating situation whereby Russian industry is experiencing a boom but is finding it more than difficult to secure finance from the banks to facilitate the expansion.

The Russian economy may appear messy but Ben Aris asks whether the future really as bleak as it seems.

Russians have seen it all before; when the queues began to form outside banks that were refusing to pay out last month, panic began to set in.
A bank crisis that started in May with the closure of medium-sized Sodbiznesbank threatened to spin out of control after the large retail bank, Guta Bank, closed its doors and a run started on accounts at Alfa Bank, one of the two biggest commercial banks in Russia.

Russians have seen it all before; when the queues began to form outside banks that were refusing to pay out last month, panic began to set in.
A bank crisis that started in May with the closure of medium-sized Sodbiznesbank threatened to spin out of control after the large retail bank, Guta Bank, closed its doors and a run started on accounts at Alfa Bank, one of the two biggest commercial banks in Russia.

THE CENTRAL BANK OF RUSSIA (CBR) sparked a mini banking crisis last month after it used new anti-money laundering laws for the first time to strip a bank of its licence.

Jules Stewart reports on the main points raised at The Banker’s Banking on Russia conference.
Three leading market participants addressed a conference on Russian banking organised by The Banker on May 24 to review progress made in reforming the sector and assess the outlook for future progress.

The Ukrainian and Russian parliaments ratified an agreement, at the end of April, to create a free-trade Unified Economic Area (UEA). The pact, tying the two fast-growing economies more closely together, has forged the European Union of the east.

With a new presidential term for Vladimir Putin and crucial administrative reforms underway, Ben Aris considers the future shape of Russia’s over-banked financial system.