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 Kremlin has shifted emphasis away from encouraging growth, which is now strong, to tackling pressing social problems like pension reform. Ben Aris finds out that, although a good plan has got off to a bad start, there is hope for the future.Marina is standing outside the Valentino shop in tears. She received her monthly Rbs400 pension ($15) yesterday but lost her avoska, the occasional shopping bag that all Russians used to carry, along with her purse.