Congress Programme
venue:
New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre
08:30
Hall 1
International Session “Shaping a Multipolar Financial World” (by invitation)
Against the backdrop of the rapid transformation of the global financial and economic architecture and increasing geoeconomic fragmentation, the emergence of new centres of financial and economic development is becoming an increasingly important topic of discussion. Traditional institutions that shaped the international financial system throughout the second half of the twentieth century are facing growing challenges and a crisis of confidence, while multilateral regional cooperation frameworks—including BRICS, the EAEU, APEC, the SCO, and others—are strengthening their positions and creating new opportunities for international engagement. The discussion will focus on the impact of integration and fragmentation processes on financial markets, the emergence of new financing instruments and sources of capital, and the evolving role of development institutions and national regulators. Particular attention will be given to promising international initiatives that could complement the existing global payments and settlement infrastructure while enhancing the financial sovereignty of developing economies. Participants will also explore practical mechanisms for expanding financial cooperation and possible pathways towards building a more resilient, balanced, and multipolar financial and economic system
Global Agenda
08:30 – 09:3009:30 – 10:00Coffee break
10:00
Hall 110:00 – 11:15
Cryptocurrencies: a quick start
It is expected that Russia will adopt legislation on circulation of cryptocurrencies in 2026. Is the market ready, and when will operations start? What issues still need to be addressed, and what tasks should be prioritised in the short term? What opportunities will the new regulation offer to the Russian market participants and the industry at large?
FinTech
Moderator
Dmitriy BreytenbikherVTB Bank
Dmitriy BreytenbikherVTB BankSpeakers
Anatoly AksakovThe State Duma of the Russian FederationAlan KiryukhinFarvater FinanceTimur KozintsevMTS FintechVladislav KochetkovFinamAlexey TimofeevRussian National Association of Securities Market ParticipantsVladimir ChistyukhinBank of Russia
Hall 210:00 – 11:15
FX rate: an equilibrium formula
Despite the adverse and volatile external situation, the Russian ruble has gained strength since early 2025 and remains stable to this day. Its rate is determined by both cyclical and structural factors – but by which ones in particular? What is the role of the monetary policy and the fiscal rule? And does the exchange rate hold any risks for the macroeconomic and financial stability?
Economy & Monetary Policy
Moderator
Andrey GanganBank of Russia
Speakers
Sophia DonetsT-BankDmitry PolevoyAstra Asset ManagementEgor SusinGazprombankAndrey ShulginBank of Russia
Hall 310:00 – 11:15
Housing market: challenges and prospects
In 2025, launches of new construction projects declined by 12%. In the first half of 2025, the sales of housing were lower than in previous years – but in the autumn, the mortgage sped up considerably, and the total sales for 2025 exceeded the level of 2024. The construction industry’s net financial results have been growing for several years straight. Does this mean that the housing market has recovered, and what challenges should the sector expect over the next three years? What are market participants’ expectations for the impact of the updated terms of the Family Mortgage programme? In 2025, deferred payments to real-estate developers became a trend in the housing market. But are they offering an effective tool for maintaining sales amid high interest rates – or just producing elevated risks for market participants?
Financial Stability
Moderator
Elizaveta DanilovaBank of Russia
Speakers
Marina ZabotinaPromsvyazbankIvan LarionovBank DOM.RFAlexey LeipiDomclickNikita StasishinMinistry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian FederationDmitry TimofeevPIK
11:15 – 11:45Coffee break
11:45
Hall 111:45 – 13:00
Capital of banks: the system’s backbone and a driver of stable growth
Economic advancements are impossible without a stable financial system, which is held together by the banking sector. In recent years, Russian banks have played their part well: beyond just remaining resilient, they have also supported the economic growth at large. In just three years, banks’ capital grew by 50%, mostly thanks to reinvestment of profits, which enabled banks to expand their credit portfolio by over 45 trillion rubles. Next task: to meet the economy’s increasing demands without jeopardising the public’s trust in banks. How will banks withstand new challenges? Where is the balance between shareholders’ interests and banks’ demand for more capital? Where can banks locate resources for further growth? And how is the regulator going to maintain the banking sector’s stability during the economic cycle’s new phase?
Banking Regulation
Moderator
Olga PolyakovaBank of Russia
Speakers
Alexander VedyahinSberAlexander DanilovBank of RussiaMaksim KolesnikovMinistry of Economic Development of the Russian FederationDmitry PianovVTB BankSergey KhotimskySovcombankIvan ChebeskovMinistry of Finance of the Russian Federation
Hall 211:45 – 13:00
A positive-sum game: issuers vs investors
The capital market is a cooperative game, where issuers are looking for cheap funding while investors are seeking high yields. Their goals align when the market’s capitalisation is growing. However, many issuers are not interested in increasing their own value. How can a balance between top managers’ and investors’ interests be reached? And how should we use new public instruments (the Shareholder Value Programme, share ratings, stock indices and updated listing rules) to determine which securities hold investment value?
Financial Market
Moderator
Alexander ShevchukAssociation of Institutional Investors
Speakers
Ekaterina AbasheevaBank of RussiaAlexander VinogradovSQNAnna KuznetsovaRussian Agricultural BankElena KuritsynaMoscow ExchangeAlexey PudovkinDOM.RFAndrey RusetskyFirst Asset Management Company
Hall 311:45 – 13:00
Global economy: another year full of shocks
Uncertainty related to trade disputes remains high, just like the risk of the global economic climate’s deterioration. What awaits the world economy? How will international tensions and disruptions in global commodity markets affect the economic growth, potential output and inflation worldwide? A new breakthrough in information technology and the rapid progress of AI are coinciding with tighter restrictions on cross-border transfers of goods, capital and technology. Will this affect the global economic potential in the long run? And what sources of risk threaten the financial stability, thus requiring regulators’ close attention?
Global Agenda
Moderator
Alexey ZabotkinBank of Russia
Speakers
Alexander IsakovSberKsenia YudaevaIMF
13:00 – 14:30Lunch
14:30
Hall 114:30 – 15:45
Is there a storm brewing? A public talk on systemic risks hosted by the Advisory Council for Financial Stability
A regular public discussion hosted by the Bank of Russia Advisory Council for Financial Stability as part of the Bank of Russia Financial Congress events. The regulator’s previous Financial Stability Review highlighted three fundamental vulnerabilities in the financial sector: credit risks in the corporate sector, risks associated with households’ debt burden, and imbalances in the housing market. The participants will discuss how the financial market copes with the current challenges. How severe are corporate credit risks amid the slowdown in the economy? What macroprudential policy measures should the Bank of Russia take at the current stage? And may black swan events occur in the Russian market?
Financial Stability
Moderator
Philipp GabuniaBank of Russia
Speakers
Alexander KudrinHSE UniversityMikhail MatovnikovSberNatalia OrlovaAlfa-BankAleksandr SaraevExpert RAZhanna SmirnovaBank DOM.RF
Hall 214:30 – 15:45
New assessment of banks’ economic performance: results of the discussion with market participants
Last year, the Bank of Russia revealed its updated methodology for evaluating banks’ economic position and presented it for public discussion. The new approach is much better at classifying banks as per risks that they accept. The idea is that banks with lower ratings will pay bigger contributions to the Mandatory Deposit Insurance Fund, while highly rated entities will qualify for discounts. Moreover, the intensity of supervisory actions applied to a bank will depend on its rating. Banks have expressed their general support for the new methodology, but have also sent multiple comments. Which of their ideas have been taken into account, and what does the finalised evaluation framework look like? How does this methodology fit with the Bank of Russia’s other tools? How will the new approach be implemented, and what preparations should banks be taking?
Banking Regulation
Moderator
Alexander LunevBank of Russia
Speakers
Sergey VolchekAlfa-BankEduard IssopovMTS BankOlga KazakovaGazprombankDenis LipaevAssociation of Banks of RussiaAlexey ChagovetsBank of Russia
Hall 314:30 – 15:45
Stop drifting in a sea of information, start taking concrete steps: how can we help consumers make mindful choices?
Financial institutions have made impressive progress in nudging consumers towards decisions that benefit only the financial institutions themselves. Now these techniques need to be repurposed in order to promote conscious choices of financial products and services. Will the new AI-based disclosure model help in this regard? How will such benevolent nudging affect consumers’ financial literacy and mindful decision-making in the long term? How do costs increase for everyone when customers are left to their own devices? And could digital navigation become a part of the wider consumer protection infrastructure?
FinTech
Moderator
Mikhail MamutaBank of Russia
Speakers
Ruslan VesterovskiySberMaksim GrigorievFinTech AssociationVladimir IvanovMSUEvgeniya LazarevaSocial activistSergey KhotimskySovcombank
Panelists
Evgeniy UfimtsevAll-Russian Insurance AssociationAndrey YazykovUgoria Insurance Company
15:45 – 16:15Coffee break
16:15
Hall 116:15 – 17:30
The digital ruble: new stages of the project
Central bank digital currencies remain among the hottest topics for financial market participants, in Russia and worldwide. Various models, use cases and technical aspects have been studied over recent years. However, most projects have not moved beyond research and piloting. Russia is one of global leaders in this area, and in September we are introducing a broader use of the digital ruble. What will digital ruble-based services look like? What scenarios for the digital rouble’s development can produce extra value for the economy? What role do banks play in developing the digital ruble? And what functions should be added to the digital ruble from the perspective of consumers and businesses?
FinTech
Moderator
Zulfia KakhrumanovaBank of Russia
Speakers
Boris VedernikovBank TochkaDenis DodonAlfa-BankDmitriy DubyninNSPKEkaterina ElmanovaRussian Agricultural BankIlya IvanitskyCentral UniversityIgor KudinovITMO University
Hall 216:15 – 17:30
Dirty tricks on the organized market: shall we let them trade freely – or punish them duly?
The Bank of Russia, the Government of the Russian Federation, and domestics exchanges are working together to increase the stock market’s capitalisation and make it more transparent. However, insider trading and market manipulation (often performed through blogs) remain a problem and undermine investors’ trust. Large-scale investigations and inspections as well as stricter compliance requirements inevitably entail additional costs for law-abiding market participants and investors. New amendments to legislation are supposed to make insiders’ trades more transparent and introduce harsher financial punishment for offenders. Is it possible to discourage market participants from engaging in illicit practices – without scaring honest investors away from stock exchanges? How can we minimise the impact of bad-faith market participants, and what additional steps are required to eliminate market manipulation?
Financial Market
Moderator
Nikita MakarovRBC
Speakers
Victor ZhidkovMoscow ExchangeIvan LarionovBank DOM.RFKirill ProninBank of RussiaIvan RyzhikovT-BankKira YukhtenkoInvestFuture
Hall 316:15 – 17:30
Profits and investments: how much investment do we need?
The 2021–2024 spike in investment partially stemmed from the corporate sector’s high profits over the period – which are now going down compared to the peak figures of 2023. Moreover, the ratio of the real sector’s financial results to GDP has returned to its pre-pandemic level. What does this say about the overall financial situation of the corporate sector? How will this trend affect the wage growth and the labour market? How have the regions’ budgets been affected by lower revenues from profit taxes? Why did investment remain high in 2024–2025 despite the tight monetary policy and falling profits? And what is the connection between the level of investment, the potential for steady and sustainable growth, and the overall growth rate?
Economy & Monetary Policy
Moderator
Kirill TremasovBank of Russia
Speakers
Ekaterina BogopolskayaBank of RussiaSergey KorovinBank of RussiaRodion LatypovVTB GroupVladimir SalnikovCentre for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting
17:30
Cocktail reception
Location: Courtyard of the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre