Congress Programme
venue:
New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre
09:30 – 10:00Coffee break
10:00
Hall 110:00 – 11:15
Two pillars of macroeconomic stability
The Russian economy continues developing amid major structural shifts. Moreover, the global economy has also been dealing with profound changes, including the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions in supply chains, unstable international politics and the rapid progress of AI. All of this requires stronger focus on making predictions and accounting for risks beyond any baseline scenarios. Moreover, this situation establishes stricter requirements for the government finance and price stability, the two pillars of macroeconomic stability. What should we expect in terms of growth, inflation, fiscal policy and monetary policy in 2026 and beyond? How are the fiscal and monetary policies connected? And under what conditions would an expansionary macroeconomic policy be appropriate?
Economy & Monetary Policy
Moderator
Alexey ZabotkinBank of Russia
Alexey ZabotkinBank of RussiaSpeakers
Oleg VyuginMoscow ExchangeMikhail GolovninIE RASMikhail ZadornovEconomistIlya IlyinPromsvyazbankPhilipp KartaevMSU
Hall 210:00 – 11:15
It is high time to lower the risks of credit concentration: the regulator has offered its incentives, now it is banks’ turn
Certain banks’ credit concentration remains high. This hinders the development of the capital market and stands in the way of fair competition – and if the credit risk materialises, some large banks will have to be recapitalised. The Bank of Russia’s goal is to eliminate exposures exceeding 25% of a credit institution’s capital. The plan is to use increased contributions to the Deposit Insurance Agency as an economic disincentive, and to introduce regulatory tools for risk redistribution, e.g. digital financial assets and credit default swaps. What prevents companies from raising funds outside the banking sector? What additional incentives could encourage market participants to reduce their concentration risks at a faster rate? And is it fair to introduce higher contributions to the Deposit Insurance Agency?
Banking Regulation
Moderator
Maxim LyubomudrovBank of Russia
Speakers
Dmitry GusevSovcombankIgnat DirksGazpromMikhail KaminskyMinistry of Economic Development of the Russian FederationAnton NaberukhinBank of RussiaIlya RebrovRosatomAlexander SobolGazprombank
Hall 310:00 – 11:15
Barrier-free payments: benefits for pioneers or a common good?
Innovations make payments more convenient and reliable. But technological progress requires large investments, and so the big question is: will new technologies be available to everyone – or will they provide an advantage to major players only? How can we combine the development of the market, fair competition and technological advancements? Does the industry need seamless payments and interoperability so that innovations work for everyone? And are fintech companies ready to challenge banks in a quest for payment domination?
FinTech
Moderator
Alla BakinaBank of Russia
Speakers
Georgy GorshkovWildberries BankDmitriy DubyninNSPKAndrey LichmanovOzon BankPavel NovikovSkolkovo FoundationAnton TeslenkoFederal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation
Panelists
Ilya IvanitskyCentral University
11:15 – 11:45Coffee break
11:45
Hall 111:45 – 13:00
Investment vibe check: cringe or fire? Moving with the changing times
Traditional investment no longer excites the youth of today. They are more interested in alternative assets, ranging from TikTok accounts and in-game assets to real-life collectibles. Take the market for Counter Strike skins: billions of US dollars, thousands of traders, online marketplaces, arbitrage and derivatives. In that reality, the capital is built around attention, ideas and digital rights. Some other appealing assets: limited-edition sneakers or a rare Lego set. How are investors of the future different? Would you buy an option – or an in-game knife skin? Would you invest in a long-term savings programme – or in sought-after kicks? Can banks, exchanges and the regulator catch up with the times? And how can we tell red flags from green flags – to really feel at home in the new investment environment?
Financial Market
Moderator
Evgenia ShamisRUGenerations
Speakers
Philipp GabuniaBank of RussiaDavid GolubevChannel Dickers investIrina KrivosheevaAlfa-CapitalAram TatoyanReasonsKirill TsarevSber
Hall 211:45 – 13:00
Ruble-based stablecoins: an architecture of maximized potential
Market participants propose introducing a separate regulation for stablecoins in Russia. The current regulation does enable the issuance of stablecoins, but perhaps there is still some untapped potential for use cases. The participants will discuss how stablecoins are used, what value they can add to the economy, what should be done to fully capitalise on their potential under current circumstances, and what regulations are missing on the market.
FinTech
Moderator
Gleb MararenkoBank of Russia
Speakers
Anatoly AksakovThe State Duma of the Russian FederationDmitriy VitmanAlfa-BankIgor EgorkinTokensAlexander ZozulyaSberEkaterina LozgachevaBank of Russia
Hall 311:45 – 13:00
Artificial Intelligence: a revolution or a bubble?
Artificial intelligence can boost productivity and accelerate economic growth, but this will require enormous investment, not least in terms of infrastructure. Will AI companies be able to recoup the investments? What will be AI’s actual contributions to growth and productivity? Do nations need sovereign AI? In the financial sector, AI can also reduce costs and enhance the financial stability by making risk management more effective. At the same time, it could produce new threats: a high concentration of third-party suppliers, stronger procyclical trends on financial markets, etc. How should the regulator and the market balance AI’s advantages and risks?
Global Agenda
Moderator
Elizaveta DanilovaBank of Russia
Speakers
Maksim BolotskikhYakov & PartnersAlexander KrainovYandexQiao LiuPeking UniversityV. Anantha NageswaranMinistry of Finance, IndiaKsenia YudaevaIMF
13:00 – 14:00Lunch
14:00
Hall 114:00 – 15:15
AI in banks’ risk management: a source of anti-fragility or a new type of vulnerabilities
Banks are ever more enthusiastic about implementing artificial intelligence in various risk management procedures, from credit scoring and fraud detection to validation of models. However, AI-based analytical models should not be confused with traditional models used for calculating capital and reserves, and the banking sector is just beginning to determine where to draw the dividing line. In what areas has AI integration yielded concrete results, and where have the outcomes been falling short of expectations so far? How can AI-based models become an instrument for enhancing banks’ risk function and not its weak link? All of these topics and more will feature in the discussion between representatives of the regulator, top managers of major banks, and cyber security experts.
FinTech
Moderator
Olga PolyakovaBank of Russia
Speakers
Ekaterina GlukharevaBank TochkaDzhangir DzhangirovSberAlexander DolbnevYandex.CloudOlga KadrevaBank of RussiaNatalya KasperskyInfoWatchIlya ChizhevskyOTP Bank
Panelists
Maksim KondratenkoVTB Bank
Hall 214:00 – 15:15
Digital platforms and the financial market: seeking balance
Digital platforms are playing an increasingly important role on the financial market, providing infrastructure for sales and developing ecosystems of their own. Now that the last mile problem enters the frame, how can it be resolved – and who will reach the finish line? Will digital platforms’ open business model fulfil its promise? When will banks open up their ecosystems? What strategic forks in the road remain ahead and require arrangements between stakeholders? And should the regulator be this environment’s moderator – or dictator?
Financial Market
Moderator
Kirill TokarevRBC
Speakers
Maria ZaikinaOzonEduard IssopovMTS BankEkaterina LozgachevaBank of RussiaKonstantin MarkelovT-BankVitaliy SergeychukVTB BankDmitry TafintsevRWB
Hall 314:00 – 15:15
A recipe for higher productivity
Traditional factors (i.e. fixed capital and labour resources) play only a limited role in economic growth. However, there is potential for raising the productivity level by multiple percent: even with the currently available resources, the figures for many industries are in double digits. Why is productivity rising so slowly? How can we ensure its steady growth? Are the current structural transformations contributing to greater productivity? And what preconditions for a faster growth of productivity are present at the levels of macroeconomics, industries, institutions, regulations, technology, finance, administration, labour market and individual behaviour?
Economy & Monetary Policy
Moderator
Alexander MorozovBank of Russia
Speakers
Ilya VoskoboynikovHSE UniversityNatalia ZubarevichMSUVladislav OnishchenkoAgency TDE (Transformation and Development of Economics)Denis TyupyshevMinistry of Economic Development of the Russian FederationDenis FilippovMyasnitsky Ryad
15:15 – 15:30Coffee break
15:30
Hall 215:30 – 16:45
Open Solutions: From Financial Infrastructure to the Infrastructure of the Entire Economy. Session hosted by T-Bank
Today, the development of Open Banking is shaping not only the competitiveness of the banking sector, but also the architecture of the entire digital economy. It’s no longer just about access to accounts and financial services, but about building a new infrastructure of trust, data, and customer engagement at the intersection of finance, retail, government services, and digital platforms. The Open Banking market is entering a crucial phase: Open API standards are being established, the number of connected banks is growing, and real-life customer use cases are rapidly expanding. Open Banking is no longer a pilot project, it is becoming an essential market infrastructure. Banks that were early adopters of open APIs have already demonstrated that Open Banking is not about losing customers, but about creating new revenue streams, expanding partnership models, and strengthening their own role within the ecosystem
FinTech
Moderator
Ekaterina LitovaVedomosti
Speakers
Maksim GrigorievFinTech AssociationSergey KhotimskySovcombankSergey KhromovT-BankKirill TsarevSber