About the Association
The Association of Banks of Russia (Association “Russia”) was founded on 13 December 1990 as the Russian Association of Joint-Stock Commercial Industrial Construction Banks “Russia”, becoming the first nationwide banking union in the country.
The Association developed in parallel with the Russian banking system. In view of the economic crisis of 1998, increasing importance of regional banks and merging of many credit institutions, the Association changed its name to the Association of Regional Banks of Russia (Association “Russia”) in 1999. In September 2017, it gained its current name of the Association of Banks of Russia.
Today, the Association unites more than 220 members, which account for over 90% of the country’s banking assets, including large systemically important credit institutions, banks with foreign capital participation, small and medium-sized regional banks, non-banking financial institutions, NGOs and media outlets.
Over the years, the Association has rallied the ranks of Russian bankers, built relationships between the banking business and the government, and effectively protected the interests of banks.
In addition, the Association serves as an expert center of the Russian banking community and actively promotes adjustments to the legislative and regulatory frameworks of the Russian banking sector. Many of our proposals have been reflected in the Russian legislation on banks and banking activities, deposit insurance and credit history bureaus, as well as other regulations issued by the Bank of Russia and the Russian Government.
As a part of its international activities, the Association of Banks of Russia became one of the founding parties of the International Banking Council (IBC), which encompasses banking unions from CIS, Central and Eastern European countries.
At the moment, the Association is in contact with various banking sector institutions from African, MENA, East Asian, Latin American and CIS countries, putting a premium on developing cooperation in all spheres that interest our members.
The Association’s main tasks include
- increasing the capitalization of banks and creating the conditions for accumulating long-term investment resources;
- building of confidence towards the domestic banking sector among investors, depositors and the general public;
- reducing banking services costs and increasing banking business efficiency;
- ensuring equal competition conditions for all credit institutions, including government-owned banks.
Head of International relations department, Association of banks of Russia
Svetlana Porskova
+7 (495) 785-2990 ext. 120
sgp@asros.ru