Acquisitions by both private and state-owned banks in Russia are gradually concentrating the top end of the banking sector, but the long tail of closely held and regional banks remains.

The merger of two stock exchanges and work to bring operations into line with international standards gives Moscow the potential to claw back Russian equity offerings from other markets.

With balance sheet clean-ups continuing in Europe and the US, banks in emerging markets have grabbed the opportunity to forge stronger relationships with local commodity producers. 

The acquisition of an investment bank and subsidiaries across emerging Europe are transforming Sberbank from Russia's retail savings bank of choice into a genuine international player, just as Western competitors are retreating. But its management team is treading carefully.

After leading Morgan Stanley’s equities business outside the Americas, John Hyman is working to position Renaissance Capital as a focused player in a number of very different markets across emerging Europe and Africa.

A diversified payment rights securitisation for ZAO Raiffeisenbank reopened this important source of funding in Russia for the first time since the financial crisis, but joint lead manager WestLB will not be around to manage follow-up deals.

Citi’s debt capital markets team switched nimbly between reopening Russian markets when risk appetite was high and placing Gulf state sukuk when investors searched for safety.

Closer economic integration of countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States has been discussed for many years without practical progress. The launch of a Single Economic Space between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus may be about to change that.

The Russian government is pushing hard for more financing to find its way to the small and medium-sized enterprise sector, but opaque accounts and a shortage of management skills are deterring banks and private equity funds alike.