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.

UniCredit has its sights set on further expansion into central Europe. Paolo Fiorentino, deputy chief operating officer, head of New Europe, talks to Stephen Timewell about the bank’s developments in the region.

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.

Ben Aris reports from Kiev on the benefits that the new eastern bloc CES alliance is expected to bring and on the country’s growing relationship with the EU.
The leaders of the four biggest countries in eastern Europe gathered in the Crimean resort of Yalta in May to create their answer to the EU: the Common Economic Space (CES). The new free trade zone is designed to feed flourishing economic growth in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Ben Aris reports from Kiev on the shape of the banking sector and banks’ strategies to build up universal business now that the economy is faring well.

Serhiy Tihipko, chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, talks to Ben Aris in Kiev about economic progress and developments in the banking sector.

The Ukranian economy is undercapitalised and companies are placing a steady stream of corporate bond issues to raise investment, says Ben Aris in Kiev.

The capitalisation of the Ukrainian stock market is rising on the back of strong economic growth, and the growth is expected to accelerate.

Matei Paun reports on the host of foreign banks hoping to cash in on Romania’s burgeoning finance sector.