Banking system of the Russian Federation: concept, fundamentals, structure, functions, characteristics. Structure of the banking system of the Russian Federation The banking system of the Russian Federation includes

The modern banking system of Russia was created as a result of reforming the state credit system that developed during the period of a centralized planned economy. Banks in the Russian Federation are created and operate on the basis of the Federal Law of December 2, 1990 N 395-1 (as amended on April 20, 2015) “On Banks and Banking Activities” (December 2, 1990), which defines credit institutions and banks, types of banking operations and transactions are listed, the procedure for creating, liquidating and regulating the activities of credit institutions, etc. is established.

The current legislation enshrines the basic principles of organizing the Russian banking system, which include the following:

Two-level structure;

Implementation of banking regulation and supervision by the central bank;

Universality of business banks;

Commercial orientation of banks' activities.

The principle of a two-tier structure for building the Russian banking system is implemented through a clear legislative division of the functions of the central bank and all other banks. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as the top level of the banking system, performs the functions of monetary regulation, banking supervision and management of the payment and settlement system in the country. He can carry out banking operations necessary to perform these functions only with Russian and foreign credit organizations, as well as with the Government of the Russian Federation, representative and executive bodies of state power, local governments, state extra-budgetary funds, and military units. The Bank of Russia does not have the right to carry out banking operations with legal entities that are not credit institutions, and with individuals (except for military personnel and employees of the Bank of Russia). It cannot directly enter the banking market, provide loans directly to enterprises and organizations, and must not participate in competition with commercial banks.

Commercial banks and other credit organizations form the second, lower level of the banking system. They mediate in settlements, lending and investing, but do not take part in the development and implementation of monetary policy, and focus their work on the parameters of the money supply, interest rates, inflation rates, etc. established by the Bank of Russia. In the process of their functioning, these banks must comply with the standards and requirements of the Bank of Russia regarding the level of capital, the creation of reserves, etc.

The principle of banking regulation and supervision by the central bank is reflected in the fact that in the Russian Federation the body of banking regulation and supervision is the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Along with the Bank of Russia, other government bodies also regulate the activities of banks as legal entities. Thus, the interaction of banks in the banking services market, the development of competition between them is subject to regulation by the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship Support. The work of banks in the securities market is regulated and controlled by the Federal Commission for the Securities Market. In addition, banks as taxpayers fall under the regulatory influence of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Russian Federation, and as agents of currency control they interact with the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation. However, all these departments for the most part do not establish special norms and requirements for banks, but regulate their activities in a general manner in the same way as any other legal entities. The regulatory impact of the Bank of Russia is of a special nature and applies only to banks, which is due to their exclusive role in the economy and the need to ensure sustainable operation for the functioning of the payment system, as well as the safety of savings and cash reserves.

The principle of universality of Russian banks means that all banks operating on the territory of the Russian Federation have universal functionality, in other words, they have the right to carry out all operations provided for by law and banking licenses - short-term commercial and long-term investment. The legislation does not reflect the specialization of banks by types of their operations.

The universal status of banks makes it possible to reduce risks through the diversification of services, provides comprehensive services to enterprises, and takes maximum account of the specifics of each group of clients when developing new banking products. At the same time, the universal status of banks is fraught with danger in the form of conservation of the ineffective structure of banking products, since it creates the opportunity to compensate for the low profitability of some services with the high profitability of others. The provision of commercial and investment services by one bank exacerbates the so-called “conflict of interest” between it and clients, which increases the importance of internal control systems in such banks. However, it is now recognized that the universal status of banks meets the basic needs of the Russian economy and provides favorable conditions for the development of a banking system adequate to the needs of economic growth.

The principle of the commercial orientation of second-tier banks is expressed in the fact that, according to the law, the main purpose of the activities of banks and credit organizations in the Russian Federation is to make a profit. In the Russian Federation, the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities” allows for the creation of credit organizations and banks only as commercial organizations operating solely to make a profit.

The modern banking system of Russia includes the Bank of Russia, credit organizations, branches and representative offices of foreign banks. Thus, the domestic banking system is built on a two-level principle, which can be schematically represented as follows:

(Fig. 2. Two-tier banking system of Russia)

The principle of a two-tier structure is implemented by legislative separation of the functions of the central bank and all other banks. The Bank of Russia, as the top level of the banking system, performs the functions of monetary regulation, banking supervision and management of the settlement system in the country. He can carry out banking operations necessary to perform these functions only with Russian and foreign credit organizations, as well as with the Government of the Russian Federation, representative and executive bodies of state power, local governments, state extra-budgetary funds, and military units. The Bank of Russia does not have the right to carry out banking operations with legal entities that are not credit institutions, and with individuals (except for military personnel and employees of the Bank of Russia). It cannot directly enter the banking market, provide loans directly to organizations and must not participate in competition with commercial banks.

Commercial banks and other credit organizations form the second, lower level of the banking system. They carry out operations related to the intermediation of payments, lending and investment, but do not take part in the development and implementation of monetary policy. All second-tier banks focus their work on the parameters of the money supply, interest rates, inflation rates, etc. established by the Bank of Russia. They must comply with the standards and requirements of the Bank of Russia regarding the level of capital, the creation of reserves, etc.

The principle of universality of Russian banks means that all banks operating in the Russian Federation have universal functionality, i.e. have the right to carry out all operations stipulated by law and banking licenses: both short-term commercial and long-term investment. The legislation does not provide for the specialization of banks by types of their operations. The universal status of banks makes it possible to reduce risks through the diversification of services, provides comprehensive services and maximum consideration of the specifics of each group of clients when developing new banking products. At the same time, this principle carries with it the danger of preserving the ineffective structure of the banking product range, compensating for the low profitability of one group of services with the high profitability of others. The combination of commercial and investment services within one bank aggravates the so-called conflict of interests between the bank and its clients, which increases the importance of internal control systems in universal banks. However, it is now recognized that the universal status of banks meets the basic needs of the Russian economy and provides favorable conditions for the development of a banking system adequate to the needs of economic growth.

The principle of the commercial orientation of second-tier banks is expressed in the fact that, according to the law, the main purpose of the activities of banks and credit organizations in the Russian Federation is to make a profit. In many countries, along with commercial ones, there are also non-profit credit organizations, for example cooperative banks, which do not pursue the goal of making a profit, but are created to meet the needs of their members for financial services. Intermediation in credit and investment can also be carried out by state banks, which also do not have profit as their main goal.

Now let us present some of our fundamental conclusions about the performance by banks of two complex economic functions.

The first function is to provide business entities with the funds necessary for:

a) carrying out current settlements and payments for various types of obligations (including tax);

b) economic development (cash loans and direct investments in the form of the acquisition of shares or blocks of shares and other securities play a key role here). The sphere in which banks and other credit organizations operate is the sphere of intangible production, where useful work is embodied in a special result, where their own special services are developed. Banks produce unique products, namely: such diverse financial technologies for serving clients and solving their problems, without which no business entity can do.

The second function of banks is to provide economic entities with specifically banking products (technologies for working with funds).

Returning to the first function, it should be emphasized: in performing it, commercial banks act as financial intermediaries.

In this capacity, they, firstly, concentrate part of the financial (monetary) funds of the majority of participants in economic turnover, combining scattered amounts belonging to enterprises, organizations and individuals into common monetary funds that can form a very serious economic resource; from this point of view, the accumulation by banks of temporarily free money of legal entities and the population is not a function (goal, task), but the only way for commercial banks to carry it out.

Secondly, banks mediate settlements and payments for most business transactions concluded between economic entities.

Thirdly, they make tax and other mandatory payments to their clients at their expense (trying, first of all, to optimize these payments).

Fourthly, they ensure the safety and even increase of the amounts entrusted to them by clients.

Fifthly, they convert cash into non-cash money (and vice versa), and supply customers with the necessary cash in a timely manner.

Sixthly, they manage on a trust basis the money and other property of clients in their (or persons indicated by them) interests.

Seventh, they conduct currency exchange operations.

Eighth, by providing clients with the above services, they implement the central bank’s monetary policy (and therefore the economic policy of the state): they contribute to the stabilization of money circulation in the country, form the money supply, including the supply of resources for investment.

Ninth, they direct the collected funds to the most promising sectors of the economy, using various forms of lending to competitive borrowers.

Tenth, within the normatively regulated limits, they invest part of their own funds in the authorized capitals of non-credit enterprises and organizations for the purpose of joint management with them. However, we note that this point of joint management partly contradicts the definition of banks as intermediary organizations.

Bank concept comes from the Italian language, and translated means bench, table. Banchieri was the name given to money changers and moneylenders in medieval Italy.

Bank- This financial institution which carries out various types of transactions with money and securities. Banks are financial and credit institutions that provide financial services to the government, individuals and legal entities. Bank properties:

• making a profit;
• carrying out banking operations;
• opening and maintaining bank accounts for individuals and legal entities;
• activities based on a state license;
• lack of rights to engage in trading, manufacturing or insurance activities.

Types of banks not numerous: central banks and commercial ones. Central banks- regulate the banking system at the state level, including the issue of national currency. Commercial banks conduct business activities in the banking system.

There are three types of commercial banks:

• investment banks (investments, securities);
• savings banks (deposits, deposits);
• universal (all types of banking activities).

Functions of banks.

1. Storing client money: the first historically, and still one of the main functions of the bank.
2. Transfer of money from one client to another by bank transfer (by changing the relevant records).
3. Loans(loans have a stimulating effect on the production sector of the economy and on entrepreneurship; in addition, another positive aspect of this function is the creation of additional money supply).
4. In the resources of banks, attracted and borrowed capital prevails over their own, which entails increased responsibility to client depositors and creditors.
5. Simultaneous work with clients from different fields of activity, including with opponents (competitors).

Bank resources consist of equity capital and borrowed funds. Equity capital is a bank's reserve fund, a means of protection in the event of a bank's loss of liquidity and the need to return deposits. Own capital consists of:

• authorized capital (the minimum amount of bank property);
• funds from profits;
• additional capital (income from the sale of securities, exchange rate differences and differences in the revaluation of fixed assets).

Raising funds from bank resources is:

• deposits of individuals and legal entities;
• interbank loans;
• bank bills and bonds.

Banking system.

Banking system is a complex of all types of national banks and credit institutions. Structure of the banking system consists of two levels.

At the top level is the central or issuing bank, which regulates the activities of the entire system. At the lower level are commercial banks (universal and specialized - investment, savings, mortgage, credit, etc.).

The main elements in the infrastructure of the banking system:

• legislative norms;
• regulations for transactions;
• accounting, reporting and database processing;
• structure of the management apparatus (management).

Banking infrastructure is something without which the banking system cannot develop normally; it represents for banks the same regulator of behavior as moral and legal norms for humans.

Speaking about banks and the banking system, one cannot fail to mention the concept bank secrecy- a kind of code of honor for the bank. In some countries, all bank employees are prohibited from disseminating information about clients, their accounts and the movements of funds.

The banking system is one of the main structures in the economy of any state. The main function of the banking system is intermediation in the movement of funds and loans between sellers and buyers, lenders and borrowers.

The banking system is one of the main structures in the economy of any developed state. It is designed to meet the growing needs of modern society for banking services and products.

The banking system is a set of national banks and other credit institutions included in the economy of the state. The main function of the banking system as a whole is to mediate the movement of funds and loans between sellers and buyers, lenders and borrowers.

The elements of the banking system are:

• the central bank, which carries out the emission and foreign exchange policy of the state;
• commercial banks providing various operations and services;
• various credit and settlement centers.

The banking system has a hierarchical structure headed by the central bank. At the lower level there are commercial banks, which are divided into universal and specialized (consumer credit banks, as well as mortgage, savings, investment, industry, intra-industrial), as well as non-banking financial institutions (insurance companies, investment companies and funds, pension funds, trust companies, pawn shops, etc.).

This system is usually called a two-tier system; it has become widespread in economically developed countries. In most countries, the central (issuing) bank is state-owned. But, if the state partially owns the central bank, for example, in Japan - 55%, Belgium - 50%, or is not the formal owner of the bank, as in the USA, Switzerland, Italy - the central bank is still vested with the functions of a government body and has a monopoly right to issue (put into circulation) banknotes.

The central bank stores state gold and foreign exchange reserves, serves the state budget and takes part in managing the state debt. The Central Bank is the main instrument in state policy in the field of regulation of monetary sphere and foreign exchange relations.

Due to the special role of the central bank, the government is interested in its reliability. It is worth noting that the central bank, regardless of the ownership of capital, is legally independent. The bank manager is not part of the government. This independence of the central bank is necessary to perform all necessary functions. For example, it is very important when it is necessary to limit the government's ability to use bank resources to cover the budget deficit.

But the independence of the central bank is still relative: the economic policy of the state requires clear coordination of all its elements, therefore the long-term policy of the central bank is determined by the priorities of the government course in the economy. As a rule, it is through the central bank that the bulk of all settlements are made, and the central bank establishes the rules for these settlements, which are mandatory for all organizations, enterprises and the population.

In relation to other elements of the system, the central bank is a “bank of banks”: it stores available funds and required reserves of commercial banks, as well as other structures, issues loans to them, and stands at the head of the national system of offsets of monetary obligations. The Central Bank sets limits and standards for the activities of other banks and determines the official interest rate on loans.

Commercial banks are the main link in the credit system. They fall under the category of financial intermediaries. Most banking transactions are carried out through them.

Commercial banks provide loans to trade and industrial enterprises, carry out mutual settlements, and accept deposits. Banks attract free funds, savings of individuals and provide them for temporary use to other economic agents, and thereby contribute to a significant increase in production efficiency.

In addition to banks, the elements of the lower level of the banking system are the specialized credit and financial institutions already listed above (investment funds, insurance companies, etc.). Unlike banks, such institutions do not provide a full range of banking services; their activities are limited to certain functions.

The legal framework and principles of their functioning are determined by the central bank. The legislation of most states provides for the functioning of foreign banks within the country.

In some countries their activities are not limited, for example in France. Other countries establish certain limits for the transactions they carry out, for example, Russia, Canada. A similar structure of the banking system is typical for most countries with developed economies, such as the USA, Japan, and Western European countries.

However, in terms of the development of the constituent elements of the systems of different countries, there are significant differences and features. The uniqueness of the systems is determined by the conditions of historical development, national traditions, the level of economic development, the method of regulating money circulation and other factors.

For example, we can take two highly developed neighboring countries of North America - the USA and Canada. Despite the close proximity of their location, the organization of their banking systems uses directly opposite approaches. If there are approximately 12 thousand banks in the United States, then in Canada there are only six, but they have branches and branches throughout the country.

But, in the end, what is important is not the number of banks as such, but the quantitative characteristics of the banking system - the total number of banking institutions, including branches, departments, agencies that serve organizations, enterprises and the population.

In Russia, the banking system is two-tier. At the head of the system is the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, at the second level are commercial banks, as well as various financial and credit institutions. In addition, the banking system of the Russian Federation includes branches and representative offices of foreign banks, banking groups and holdings. The Bank of Russia, being a legal entity, is not registered with the tax authorities. It carries out expenses at the expense of its income, but profit is not the goal of the bank’s activities; it is the body regulating the economy in the country and carries out the functions of foreign economic activity.

Commercial and specialized banks, located at the second level of the banking system, provide comprehensive settlement and credit services to their clients or specialize in certain types of services. Russian banks are not called upon to be responsible for the obligations of banks and, conversely, the state is not responsible for the obligations of banks.

It is worth noting that in the conditions of modern society, the banking system is constantly developing and changing, and its structure is becoming more complex. This is due to the development of financial and commodity markets, the emergence of new tools and methods of customer service, and new types of financial and credit institutions.

is a set of interrelated elements that includes the Central Bank, credit organizations consisting of commercial banks and other credit and settlement institutions, sometimes united within holding companies, as well as banking infrastructure and banking legislation. The Federal Law of December 2, 1990 “On Banks and Banking Activities” defines the concept of the banking system as follows: the banking system of the Russian Federation includes the Bank of Russia, credit organizations, as well as branches and representative offices of foreign banks.

Banking system of the Russian Federation, its levels

Russian banking system has a two-level structure. The first level is represented by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The second level includes non-bank credit organizations, as well as branches and representative offices of foreign banks.

The first level includes the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the type of functions and powers of which distinguish it from other banks. First of all, this is the establishment and methodological support of the rules for carrying out and accounting for banking operations, issuing cash (issue), organizing payment circulation, licensing banking activities and supervising all credit organizations, regulating banks and other credit organizations through accounting, reserve policies and establishing for them mandatory economic standards. Due to its functional purpose, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation occupies a special place in the banking system.

The second level of the banking system includes. These include: a bank and a non-bank credit organization, Russian banks with foreign capital or branches of foreign banks. The main purpose of credit institutions is to conduct banking operations for credit, cash settlement and deposit services for clients and subjects of economic relations.

Rice. 1. Structure of the banking system of the Russian Federation

The basic elements of the banking system of the Russian Federation include: credit organizations, banking infrastructure, banking legislation.

Credit organisation - This is a legal entity that, in order to make a profit as the main goal of its activities, on the basis of a special permit (license) of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), has the right to carry out banking operations provided for by the Banking Law.

Bank- a credit institution that has the exclusive right to carry out the following banking operations in aggregate: attracting funds from individuals and legal entities as deposits, placing these funds on its own behalf and at its own expense on the terms of repayment, payment, urgency, opening and maintaining bank accounts of individuals and legal entities.

Non-bank credit organization(NPO) is a credit organization that has the right to carry out certain banking operations. Acceptable combinations of banking operations for non-bank credit institutions are established by the Bank of Russia. Nonprofit organizations can carry out settlement, deposit, and credit operations, as well as collection of funds, bills of exchange, payment and settlement documents.

Banking group - This is an association of credit organizations in which one (parent) credit organization directly or indirectly (through a third party) has a significant influence on decisions made by the management bodies of another (other) credit organization.

Bank holding - an association of legal entities with the participation of credit institutions, in which a legal entity that is not a credit institution (the parent organization of a bank holding company) has the ability to directly or indirectly exert a significant influence on decisions made by the management bodies of the credit institution.

The procedure for opening and operating branches and representative offices of foreign banks on the territory of the Russian Federation is regulated by special legislative acts. The Bank of Russia sets restrictions on banking operations for branches and representative offices of foreign banks.

Russian banks are not isolated from the external environment. To perform their economic functions, they require a number of important services that are provided by the banking infrastructure. The importance of banking infrastructure has been increasing in recent years. It is understood as a set of institutions that create the necessary conditions for the implementation of banking activities and facilitate the creation and delivery of banking services to their consumers. These include:

• a deposit insurance system that guarantees the safety of citizens' deposits in banks within the framework of the norms established by law, which is carried out by the Deposit Insurance Agency (AS B) specially created by the state;
• independent payment systems that assist in settlements between organizations and banks, for example SWIFT, and payment transactions using plastic cards, for example VISA. MasterCard, American Express;
• audit organizations that provide independent verification of the activities of both commercial banks and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and confirmation of their financial statements;
• consulting and legal organizations that help banks develop their business, representing the interests of banks in interaction with clients and authorities;
• organizations - suppliers of information technology solutions, developing and providing banks with modern banking technologies aimed at automating their business processes and achieving a high level of security;
• educational organizations that provide training and retraining of banking specialists, conducting various seminars and advanced training courses, without which, given the complexity of modern banking, it is impossible to imagine the normal functioning of a bank.

The sources of banking legislation of the Russian Federation are: the Constitution of the Russian Federation; norms of international banking law and international treaties of the Russian Federation; decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation; Civil Code (Civil Code) of the Russian Federation: Federal Law “On Banks and Banking Activities”; Federal Law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)”; subordinate regulatory legal acts (instructions, regulations, circulars, etc.).

The current state of the Russian banking system

Banking system of the Russian Federation includes the Bank of Russia, credit organizations, as well as branches and representative offices of foreign banks.

The fourth stage of “foreign intervention” in the banking sector has begun in Russia. With the adoption in 1995 of Federal Law No. 65-FZ “0 introducing amendments and additions to the Law of the RSFSR “On the Central Bank of the RSFSR (Bank of Russia)”, the opportunity arose for the further development of the Russian banking sector and the system of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation itself. The federal law established the independent status of the Bank of Russia and regulated in detail the relations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation with federal government bodies. An essential point of the new banking law was the establishment of a ban on the provision of loans to the Government of the Russian Federation to finance the federal budget, as well as on the purchase by the Bank of Russia of government securities during their initial placement, except for cases when this is provided for by the federal budget law (Article 22).

At the beginning of 1996, the Federal Law “On Amendments and Additions to the Law of the RSFSR “On Banks and Banking Activities in the RSFSR”” (No. 17-FZ dated 02/03/96) was adopted, which served as the next stage in the commercialization of the Russian banking system. This Federal Law introduced a distinction between a bank and a non-bank credit organization and removed the restriction on the size of the share of the authorized capital that may be owned by one founder. Previously (according to the law of December 2, 1990), such a share for one participant in a credit organization was limited to 35%.

In mid-2002, the Federal Law “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)” (No. 86-FZ) was adopted, which increased the transparency of the Central Bank’s activities by strengthening state control. For these purposes, the National Banking Council was created - a collegial body of the Bank of Russia, responsible for external control over its activities without the right to interfere in the operational activities of the bank (Article 12).

Currently in Russia de jure There is a two-tier banking system, but after the adoption of the Federal Law “On Agricultural Cooperation” (1995) and the Federal Law “On Credit Consumer Cooperatives” (2001), the country’s banking system de facto began to acquire certain features of a three-level model:

I level(top) with assets of 15,482.6 billion rubles. — The Central Bank of the Russian Federation and its structural divisions (central office, Main Inspectorate of Credit Histories, 22 departments and 3 main directorates, 1 MSTU of the Bank of Russia, 58 main directorates, 20 national banks and 630 cash settlement centers);

Level II(interim) with assets of RUB 28,691.9 billion. — universal commercial banks that have the right to carry out banking operations (1,015 banks, including 228 credit institutions with foreign participation) and 51 non-bank credit institutions;

Level III(lower) with assets of about 30 billion rubles. — credit (consumer and agricultural) cooperation of Russia, which currently has 680 thousand shareholders.

The Bank of Russia, de jure not being a government body, at the same time, in terms of its legal powers, reflected in its goals (protecting and ensuring the stability of the ruble, developing and strengthening the banking system, ensuring the effective and uninterrupted functioning of the payment system) and functions (issuing cash and refinancing of credit institutions, establishing rules for making payments and conducting banking operations, organizing currency regulation and control (supervision) over the activities of credit institutions and banking groups, etc.), de facto refers to state bodies, since the implementation of its goals and functions involves the use of government coercive measures (Table 1).

Table 1. Balance sheet of the Bank of Russia for 2006-2009, billion rubles.

The right was granted to manage the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves (international reserve assets of the Russian Federation), which as of January 1, 2010 amounted to $440.6 billion, an increase of 5.7 times compared to January 1, 2004 ($76.9 billion) . At the same time, only 5% in the structure of gold and foreign currency reserves is given to monetary gold, taken into account according to current quotes from the Bank of Russia. The largest segment of Russian assets as of June 30, 2009 was placed in securities of foreign issuers with a maturity of less than 1 year (87.1%), followed by foreign currency deposits and account balances (7.7%), as well as in reverse repo transactions with a maturity of up to 6 months (5.2%).

The onset of the global financial crisis and the implementation by the Bank of Russia in connection with it of a policy of gradual devaluation of the ruble since October 2008 led to the fact that Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves as of May 1, 2009 amounted to $383.9 billion, i.e. over 8 months they decreased by $212.7 billion, or 35.7% of their maximum level ($596.6 billion).

Analysis of performance indicators of the Russian banking sector for 2006-2009. indicates the rapid development of the banking sector in 2006-2007. During the global financial crisis, growth rates have slowed somewhat, but still remain fairly stable. In terms of the growth rate of total assets, as well as loans and other funds provided to non-financial organizations and individuals, the Russian banking sector is one of the fastest growing markets in the world (Table 2).

Table 2. Macroeconomic indicators of the banking sector of the Russian Federation for 2006-2009.

However, behind the positive dynamics of macroeconomic indicators of the Russian banking sector (total assets and equity, loans and other allocated funds provided to non-financial resident organizations and resident individuals), serious problems were hidden, which, in the context of the global financial crisis, negatively affected not only the activities of most credit institutions in the country, but also on the Russian economy as a whole.

Microfinance credit organizations

After in the 1930s. microfinance organizations of credit cooperation and mutual credit were liquidated in the country; interest in institutions of this kind in Russia began to arise again only in the second half of the 1990s. First of all, it was demonstrated by Russian citizens, whose access to bank lending was limited. Thus, in 2008, the share of economically active citizens who did not have full access to financial services in Russia was about 50%.

As a result, such credit institutions of civil society appeared in the country as credit consumer cooperatives of citizens (CPCC), credit consumer cooperatives with the participation of legal entities (CPC), consumer societies (PO) and agricultural credit consumer cooperatives (ACCC), the total loan portfolio of which, in 2009, amounting to about 30 billion rubles, was formed mainly through the voluntary savings of shareholders.

The activities of credit cooperatives are currently not subject to prudential supervision by the Bank of Russia and are regulated by a number of legislative acts that define requirements for the organization and areas of activity of credit cooperatives. On March 4, 2010, the Government of the Russian Federation, by Resolution No. 123, entrusted Rosfinmonitoring with control over credit consumer cooperatives of citizens, thereby transferring licensing and control over the activities of these financial intermediaries to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.

Agricultural CPCs carry out their activities in accordance with the Law “On Agricultural Cooperation”. At the same time, its members must necessarily participate in the economic activities of the cooperative. Besides. The law establishes restrictions on the number of members of the cooperative who are not agricultural producers (their share should not exceed 20% of the total number of members of the cooperative).

PAs conducting loan and savings transactions with their shareholders, along with traditional types of activities of consumer cooperation (procurement, trade and purchasing, sales, supply, etc.) carry out their activities in accordance with the Law “On Consumer Cooperation (Consumer Societies, Their Unions) in the Russian Federation" and have no upper limits on the number and composition of their members. As a rule, they are created on a territorial basis.

CCCPs are created in accordance with the Law “On Credit Consumer Cooperatives of Citizens” on the basis of any community of citizens, community of place of residence, work activity, professional affiliation, etc. An upper limit on the number of members (founders) is set for them - no more than 2,000.

CCPs that do not have special legal regulation carry out their activities on the basis of the general norms of Art. 116 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and have no upper restrictions on the number and composition of their members.

In modern Russia, the main organizers of credit institutions of civil society are currently the League of Credit Unions of Russia, the National Union of Non-Profit Organizations, the Union of Rural Credit Cooperatives and the Fund for the Development of Rural Credit Cooperation. They were created to promote the development of credit cooperation as the most important area of ​​reforming the financial and credit mechanism of agriculture, the system of mutual financing of non-profit organizations, as well as providing services in the field of accounting, taxation, organization (management) of activities, advisory and educational programs.

Each type of credit institution - KPKG, KPK, PO or SKKK - is built in a strict hierarchical sequence, which is a three-level organizational structure of the following type:

Level I (primary link) - credit cooperative. Currently in Russia there are 760 KPKG, 350 SKKK, 400 PAs and KPKs in 75 regions of the country. The total number of shareholders is about 680 thousand, the volume of loans provided is 30.0 billion rubles;

Level II (middle) - regional associations KPKG, KPK, PO or SKKK, created in 34 regions of the Russian Federation. The main goal of their activities is to promote the development of the lower level of the credit cooperation system;

Level III (upper) - structures such as the League of Credit Unions of Russia, the National Union of Non-Profit Organizations, the Union of Rural Credit Cooperatives, the Fund for the Development of Rural Credit Cooperation and the Interregional Agricultural Credit Consumer Cooperative (MSKKK) "People's Credit".

League of Credit Unions of Russia(organized in 1994) is a voluntary association of credit consumer cooperatives of citizens and other non-profit mutual financial assistance organizations and their associations. As of 01/01/2008, the League included 238 cooperatives, including 46 as independent and 192 as associated (through 12 regional associations and 2 infrastructure organizations). At the same time, the cooperatives and their associations included in the League included: 238 departments (branches), 366,954 shareholders, 1,466 personnel with a total balance sheet of 6,480 million rubles.

National Union of Nonprofit Organizations established in 2001 with the aim of creating and developing a system of mutual financing of non-profit organizations, as well as providing them with services in the field of accounting, taxation and organization (management) of activities. The National Union system includes more than 160 cooperatives, uniting more than 200 thousand shareholders and controlling more than 3 billion rubles.

Rural Credit Cooperation Development Fund(FRS KK) (founded in 1997) is a non-governmental non-profit organization whose activities are related to the development of a multi-level system of CCM in Russia by providing cooperatives with financial assistance, advisory and educational services. As of 01/01/2008, the equity capital of FRSCK was 320.4 million rubles, and the size of the loan portfolio was 276.6 million rubles. At the same time, for the entire period of activity (including 2008), loans in the amount of 2.1 billion rubles were provided through the FRSKK, which were intended for 14 thousand peasant (farm) households, personal subsidiary plots and other small and medium-sized forms of agribusiness.

Union of Rural Credit Cooperatives(established in 1997) is a non-governmental non-profit organization whose activities are related to promoting the development of rural credit cooperation as the most important area of ​​reforming the financial and credit mechanism of agriculture. Currently, the SSK Union coordinates the activities of 220 credit cooperatives and credit unions from 50 regions of Russia.

Non-governmental non-profit organization MSKKK "People's Credit" (founded in 2004) is engaged in attracting financial resources to the rural credit cooperation system, reducing financial risks in the activities of regional credit cooperation systems through the creation of guarantee, insurance and reserve funds, as well as providing advisory and informational assistance. members of the ISCPC.

The main shareholders of the MSCC "People's Credit" are 17 regional cooperatives of the 2nd level and 4 associated organizations (Rural Credit Cooperation Development Fund, a branch of the non-profit corporation ACDI/OCA, the Non-profit Fund for the Development of Small Business "German Fund for the Support of Small Business" and the financial company " Oikocrcdit, Netherlands). As of July 1, 2009, 264 loans were issued from MSKPK “Narodny Kredit” for a total amount of 188.1 million rubles, the cooperative’s own funds amounted to 24.2 million rubles, and the loan portfolio amounted to 70.9 million rubles.

The Russian banking system in the context of the global financial crisis

The first signs of a financial crisis in the Russian banking system began to be observed in August 2007. Thus, over seven months of 2007, the volume of refinancing of commercial banks increased 350 times. A year later (August-September 2008), its further growth led to massive failure by banks to fulfill their obligations under repo transactions. Already the first manifestations of the crisis in Russia showed that the main mechanism of its development differs from that observed in developed countries. In Russia, the inevitability of the development of a systemic crisis was predetermined by the prevailing conditions in the 2000s. mechanisms for financing banks and enterprises, money supply, pricing in the financial market. The Bank of Russia issued ruble funds to accumulate foreign currency in official reserves. The reduction in export earnings of Russian exporters as a result of the fall in world oil prices led to a relative contraction of the money supply. An increase in interest rates on the global financial market and restrictions on lending to borrowers from developing countries led to increased borrowing costs for the largest Russian banks. This caused the collapse of the Russian interbank credit market.

The dependence of the Russian financial market and enterprises on external financing is illustrated by statistical data. Thus, as of October 1, 2008, the external debt of Russian banks and corporations (without participation in capital) amounted to $497.8 billion. As of September 1, 2009, this debt decreased, but only slightly - by only 12.7% to 434.9 billion dollars (including the debt of banks amounted to 135.9 billion dollars, the corporate sector - 299.0 billion dollars). The departure of international investors from the Russian market (in 2008, the net outflow of private capital from Russia amounted to $130.8 billion, in 2009 it exceeded $50 billion) is associated with the beginning of a liquidity crisis in the country's banking sector.

Let us list the problems that are characteristic of the banking sector of modern Russia and indicate that in our country the institutional formation of a market-type banking system has not been completed.

1. Currently, in the Russian Federation there are a large number of literally dwarf banks, both in terms of equity capital and total assets. As of December 1, 2009, over 94.0% of the total assets and approximately 90.0% of the equity capital of Russian banks were under the control of the 200 largest banks (in total there were 1,131 banks in the register of Russian credit institutions, and 1,015 operating ones). At the same time, the share of banks included in the top five accounted for 45% of all own funds, about 48.0% of total assets and 50% of all loans, deposits and other allocated funds, and the share of only one Sberbank (SB) of Russia in the structure balance sheet transactions of all credit institutions operating in Russia account for 25% of assets, 20% of equity, 30% of loans provided to legal entities and individuals, 25% of funds raised from legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, and 50% of funds raised from individuals persons The scale of the activities of the Security Council of Russia is evidenced by the state of the increase in turnover in the accounting accounts of its financial transactions (Form 101) for December 2008:

by active operations:

• balances on a correspondent account opened with the Bank of Russia increased by 64 billion rubles;
• balances on correspondent accounts opened by the SB of Russia with non-resident banks increased by 67 billion rubles;
• debited from the accounts of SB branches located in the Russian Federation, on RUB 2,717 billion more than received;
• loans and deposits placed with non-resident banks increased by 143 billion rubles;
• loans provided to non-state commercial organizations increased by RUB 122 billion;
• loans granted to individuals increased by 9 billion rubles;
• overdue loans from non-state commercial organizations decreased by 2 billion rubles;
• overdue debt of individuals on issued loans increased by 2 billion rubles;

for passive operations:

• balances on accounts of non-resident banks in the SB increased by 4 billion rubles;
• account balances of resident banks in the SB increased by 6 billion rubles;
• funds (loans, deposits) were written off from the SB correspondent account in favor of resident banks for RUB 39 billion;
• SB received an interbank loan from non-resident banks for 6 billion rubles;
• overdue debt of individuals on issued loans increased by 2 billion rubles;
• funds (including deposits) of non-state commercial organizations increased by 176 billion rubles;
• funds (including deposits) of individuals increased by 162 billion rubles.

2. The density of banking services in Russia as of December 2009 averaged slightly more than 28 points per 100 thousand population. This is comparable to the density of banking services in Eastern European countries. However, if in Europe banking divisions are almost evenly distributed across the territory, in Russia, on the contrary, it is extremely uneven. Thus, in Moscow as of January 1, 2010, about 50% of all operating credit institutions operated. They concentrated 86.6% of total assets, 57.9% of all deposits of legal entities and individuals and other funds raised, and about 35% of loans and other allocated funds provided to legal entities and individuals and individual entrepreneurs.

3. Undercapitalization of Russian banks did not allow them to adequately finance the largest Russian enterprises, and the irrational policy of the Bank of Russia of high interest rates in the absence of capital restrictions (abolished in mid-2006) led to an uncontrolled growth of Russian external debt. Thus, the external debt of the banking and corporate sectors as of September 1, 2009 amounted to about 33.5% of the Russian Federation’s GDP. In the context of rapid devaluation of the ruble, a significant part of Russian borrowers will face the problem of servicing external debt.

4. Monetary policy does not pursue the goal of stimulating economic growth and improving the welfare of the population. It is, in principle, divorced from the needs of the Russian economy and is of such a contradictory nature that it does not allow economic entities to make economically sound decisions. Thus, theoretically, the policy of strengthening the ruble, pursued in the pre-crisis period, should have contributed to the modernization of Russian enterprises. But in conditions of high inflation and the interest rate policy, the modernization of production was limited and fragmented. During a crisis period, the policy of “smooth” devaluation of the ruble, along with the policy of high interest rates, puts an end to plans for the technical re-equipment of production and, moreover, leads to a curtailment of business activity in the Russian economy. The industrial decline and at the same time a significant expansion of the money supply create stable expectations among business entities and households of a further depreciation of the Russian currency and the beginning of a new round of dollarization of the Russian economy.

5. The activities of banks as conductors of monetary policy are aimed exclusively at compliance with formalized standards, the requirement for compliance with which is often selective. As the crisis develops, Russian banks, as independent commercial organizations pursuing their own interests, limit their activities in all segments of the financial market, except for the foreign exchange one, and transform their ruble liabilities into foreign currency assets. Funds allocated to banks by the state, attracted in the form of loans from the Bank of Russia, deposits of legal entities and individuals, are not used to finance business entities, but are thrown onto the foreign exchange market. As a result, financial anti-crisis measures increase devaluation pressure and do not allow overcoming the crisis in the economy. The reduction in ruble liquidity generates a contraction in domestic aggregate demand, which further aggravates the economic crisis.

6. Investments attracted within the country in the pre-crisis period were not used productively, but were directed towards financial speculation, which led to the inflation of several bubbles, including in the national securities market. The Russian securities market in the pre-crisis period was distinguished by several features: low market capacity (only a small part of the securities of the most attractive issuers were in free circulation); a limited number of investors, which were dominated by large foreign and national institutional investors; widespread insider trading, which allowed investors to manipulate exchange rate fluctuations; decentralized market infrastructure. Russia's high investment rating attracted foreign investment, and the narrowness of supply, along with the indicated market features, led to a rapid “warming up” of the Russian stock market. Before the crisis in May 2008, its capitalization was $1.6 trillion, having more than tripled over the past 3 years. At that time, investors in a number of cases purchased foam securities at clearly inflated pence. Thus, in terms of the ratio of the total value of the company to revenue, the shares of the Russian company Severstal-Auto were placed 15-20% more expensive than the shares of such global auto giants as Honda, Nissan, Toyota, etc., and in terms of such an indicator as the ratio capitalization to net profit, the shares of the Russian tire company Amtel were placed 2-2.5 times higher than the shares of the world industry leaders - Michelin and Bridgestone.

As a result of the largely isolated and largely segmental functioning of the banking system and the real sector, structural imbalances in the national economy have increased. Therefore, for the Russian economy, recovery from the current crisis will be extremely difficult and will require the adoption of non-standard decisions.

Modern banking system Russia was created as a result of reforming the state credit system that developed during the period of a centralized planned economy, the main elements of which were discussed in Chapter. 7. Banks in the Russian Federation are created and operate on the basis of the Federal Law of December 2, 1990 No. 395-1 “On Banks and Banking Activities” (as amended on March 21, 02) [SZ RF. 1996. No. 6. Art. 492; 1998. No. 31. Art. 3829; 1999. No. 28. Art. 3459; Art. 3469; 2001. No. 26. Art. 2586; No. 33 (part 1). Art. 3424; 2002. No. 12. Art. 1093.], which defines credit institutions and banks, lists the types of banking operations and transactions, establishes the procedure for creating, liquidating and regulating the activities of credit institutions, etc. The current legislation enshrines the basic principles of organizing the Russian banking system, which include the following: a two-tier structure, the implementation of banking regulation and supervision by the central bank, the versatility of business banks and the commercial orientation of their activities.

The principle of two-level structure is implemented through a clear legislative separation of the functions of the central bank and all other banks. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation as the top level of the banking system performs the functions of monetary regulation, banking supervision and management of the payment and settlement system in the country.

He can carry out banking transactions necessary to perform these functions only with Russian and foreign credit organizations, as well as with the Government of the Russian Federation, representative and executive bodies of state power, local governments, state extra-budgetary funds, and military units. The Bank of Russia does not have the right to carry out banking operations with legal entities that are not credit institutions, and with individuals (except for military personnel and employees of the Bank of Russia). It cannot directly enter the banking market, provide loans directly to enterprises and organizations, and must not participate in competition with commercial banks.

Commercial banks and other credit organizations form the second, lower level of the banking system. They mediate in settlements, lending and investing, but do not take part in the development and implementation of monetary policy, but are guided in their work by the parameters of the money supply, interest rates, inflation rates, etc. established by the Bank of Russia. In the process of their functioning these banks must comply with the standards and requirements of the Bank of Russia regarding the level of capital, the creation of reserves, etc. The administrative-command system was characterized by a one-tier banking system, when one bank (the State Bank of the USSR) determined the volume and structure of the money supply in circulation, i.e., carried out functions of monetary regulation, and carried out lending to the national economy, establishing the procedure and conditions for issuing and repaying loans to enterprises in various industries.

The principle of banking regulation and supervision by the central bank is reflected in the fact that in the Russian Federation the body of banking regulation and supervision is the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In most European countries, the powers of banking regulation have been transferred to special banking supervision bodies: the Banking Commission in France, the Federal Office for the Control of Credit Activities in Germany, the Financial Services Authority in the UK, etc. The Bank of Russia, as a regulatory body, sets the rules for conducting banking operations , accounting and reporting for credit institutions, risk limits and other prudential standards for banking activities. He also supervises compliance with established norms and rules, conducts inspections of banks and non-bank credit organizations. The Bank of Russia acts as a licensing authority in relation to credit institutions: it issues and revokes licenses for banking operations, registers bank branches on the territory of the Russian Federation, issues permits for opening foreign branches, as well as for participation in the capital of non-resident credit institutions.

Along with the Bank of Russia, other government bodies also regulate the activities of banks as legal entities. Thus, the interaction of banks in the banking services market, the development of competition between them is subject to regulation by the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship Support. The work of banks in the securities market is regulated and controlled by the Federal Commission for the Securities Market. In addition, banks as taxpayers fall under the regulatory influence of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Taxes and Duties of the Russian Federation, and as agents of currency control they interact with the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation. However, all these departments for the most part do not establish special norms and requirements for banks, but regulate their activities in a general manner in the same way as any other legal entities. The regulatory impact of the Bank of Russia is of a special nature and applies only to banks, which is due to their exclusive role in the economy and the need to ensure sustainable operation for the functioning of the payment system, as well as the safety of savings and cash reserves.

The principle of universality of Russian banks means that all banks operating on the territory of the Russian Federation have universal functionality, in other words, they have the right to carry out all operations provided for by law and banking licenses - short-term commercial and long-term investment. The legislation does not reflect the specialization of banks by types of their operations.

The universal status of banks makes it possible to reduce risks through the diversification of services, provides comprehensive services to enterprises, and takes maximum account of the specifics of each group of clients when developing new banking products. At the same time, the universal status of banks is fraught with danger in the form of conservation of the ineffective structure of banking products, since it creates the opportunity to compensate for the low profitability of some services with the high profitability of others. The provision of commercial and investment services by one bank exacerbates the so-called “conflict of interest” between it and clients, which increases the importance of internal control systems in such banks. However, it is now recognized that the universal status of banks meets the basic needs of the Russian economy and provides favorable conditions for the development of a banking system adequate to the needs of economic growth.

The principle of the commercial orientation of second-tier banks is expressed in the fact that, according to the law, the main goal of the activities of banks and credit organizations in the Russian Federation is to make a profit. In ch. 6 it was shown that in many countries, along with commercial ones, there are also non-profit credit organizations (for example, cooperative banks), which do not set profit as their goal, but are created to meet the needs of their participants for financial services.

Intermediation in credit and investment can also be carried out by state banks, whose main goal is not to make a profit. In the Russian Federation, the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities” allows for the creation of credit organizations and banks only as commercial organizations working solely to make a profit.

The modern banking system of Russia includes the Bank of Russia, credit organizations, branches and representative offices of foreign banks. It should be noted once again that the legislation narrowly interprets the concept of a credit organization, understanding it as a legal entity that, in order to make a profit as the main goal of its activities, on the basis of a special permit (license) of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, has the right to carry out banking operations provided for by law.

All credit organizations licensed by the Bank of Russia are included in the banking system of the Russian Federation. At the same time, as already noted in Chap. 7, according to the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities” in the Russian Federation, it is possible to create two types of credit organizations: banks and non-bank credit organizations. In turn, the latter can be of three types: settlement, deposit-credit and non-bank credit collection organizations.

Thus, at present in the Russian Federation there are practically two groups of credit organizations: those included in the banking system, which, based on the content of their activities, can be called banks with a limited range of operations, and those not included in the banking system (credit cooperatives, credit unions, pawnshops, factoring, leasing companies, etc.). The second group of credit institutions is sometimes called parabanking (similar to banking).

According to Russian legislation, a bank is a credit organization that has the exclusive right to collectively carry out the following banking operations:

• attract funds from individuals and legal entities into deposits;
• place these funds on your own behalf and at your own expense on the terms of repayment, payment and urgency;
• open and maintain bank accounts for individuals and legal entities.

In accordance with the principle of universality, all Russian banks can develop as universal banks. Despite the fact that some banks have adopted the names “innovation bank”, “mortgage bank”, “agricultural bank”, “municipal bank”, they are all currently subject to the same standards of banking legislation. The Bank of Russia imposes the same requirements on them; uniform standards are established for all of them regulating their activities (with the exception of Sberbank of Russia). Universal status does not exclude the possibility of voluntary specialization of banks in certain operations or types of activities. Voluntary specialization assumes that the banks themselves and their founders bear full responsibility for decisions regarding the choice of areas of business activity. It should be noted that municipal banks in Russia, as a rule, are banks in whose capital either the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation or local authorities participate. However, unlike foreign municipal (municipal, city) banks, all Russian banks, even if their capital is formed from the property and funds of the budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation or local budgets, operate on the principles of limited liability companies (joint stock companies), and local authorities have no They do not accept additional liability or additional obligations in relation to these banks. In other words, all so-called municipal banks operate as banks whose main goal is to make a profit, and not to provide financial support for socially significant projects.

Banking groups. The peculiarity of the modern Russian banking system is the predominance of small and medium-sized banks, while the main sectors of the national economy are still dominated by large enterprises that require large amounts of external financing. One of the possible ways to overcome the contradiction between the structures of the banking system and the real sector of the economy is the creation of banking groups and bank holding companies, which is provided for by current legislation.

Banking group- this is an association of credit institutions that is not a legal entity, in which one (the parent) of them directly or indirectly (through a third party) has a significant influence on decisions made by the management bodies of other credit institutions.

Bank holding- this is a non-legal entity association of legal entities with the participation of credit institutions, in which a legal entity (the parent organization of a bank holding company), not representing a credit institution, has the opportunity to directly or indirectly (through a third party) have a significant influence on decisions made by the management bodies of credit institutions. organizations.

A commercial organization acting as the parent organization of a bank holding company, in order to manage the activities of credit institutions included in the holding, can create a management company of the bank holding company in the form of a business company, the main activity of which is to manage the activities of credit institutions included in the bank holding company. The parent commercial organization must have the opportunity to determine the decisions of the management company of the bank holding company on issues within the competence of the meeting of its founders, including its reorganization and liquidation.

The opportunity to exert a significant influence on the activities of other credit institutions may arise: firstly, due to the predominant participation of the parent organization in the authorized capital of other credit institutions; secondly, by virtue of an agreement between members of a banking group or banking holding company, which secures the right of the parent organization to determine the decisions of other credit institutions.

Their parent organizations are required to notify the Bank of Russia about the creation of banking groups and bank holding companies. Since, according to current legislation [Art. 32 of the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities.”] credit institutions are prohibited from entering into agreements and taking concerted actions aimed at monopolizing the banking services market and limiting competition in banking, then acquiring shares (shares) of credit institutions, as well as concluding agreements providing for the implementation of control over their activities should not contradict antimonopoly rules. The Bank of Russia monitors compliance with the latter together with the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Antimonopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship.

Banking Associations. Credit organizations that are part of the banking system can create unions and associations that are not intended to make a profit. Their activities are aimed at protecting the interests of member organizations and coordinating their efforts in various areas. Unions and associations of credit organizations are prohibited from carrying out banking operations. In the Russian Federation, the largest association is the Association of Russian Banks (ARB). As of January 1, 2000, it had 683 members, including 567 credit institutions, which accounted for 42% of the total number of credit institutions in the Russian Federation. ARB member banks operate in all economic regions of Russia. The Association unites 75% of banks and their branches in our country, which own about 70% of the registered authorized capital of existing credit institutions and over 80% of all assets of the Russian banking system [Money and Credit. 2000. No. 2. P. 12.].

Association of Russian Banks represents the positions of its members in legislative, executive and judicial bodies, as well as in the Bank of Russia, protects their interests, provides a variety of services, and takes a direct part in solving problems that arise for them. It organizes training for banking specialists in various regions of Russia, using regional training and business centers for this purpose. ARB is the founder and takes an active part in the activities of a number of other centers for vocational education and training. She actively develops contacts with international and national banking and business associations, financial and foreign trade organizations.

The information capabilities of the ARB allow it to provide detailed and high-quality information to its members when searching for partner banks, choosing audit firms, and expanding international cooperation. ARB has its own publication, “Bulletin of the Association of Russian Banks,” which is published twice a month and contains a variety of information about the situation in the Russian banking sector.

Along with the ARB, there are 16 territorial banking unions (associations) operating in the Russian Federation, which represent the interests of credit institutions at the regional level and cooperate with the ARB in their activities. Heads of regional banking unions take part in the preparation of proposals to protect the interests of regional banks, development of legislative and regulatory acts at the federal and regional levels.

As an example, consider the activities of the Association of Banks of North-West Russia. This Association is a non-governmental non-profit organization that unites banks, non-bank credit organizations and other organizations whose activities are related to the functioning of the credit system of the Russian Federation. Currently, 45 organizations are members of the Association. It mainly consists of banks from St. Petersburg, including two banks with 100% foreign participation, and non-resident banks with branches in St. Petersburg. Members of the Association are also several organizations closely related by the nature of their activities to the banking business. The main goals of the Association are to protect the rights and legitimate interests of its members, provide them with assistance, promote the development and strengthening of the financial and credit system of St. Petersburg and the North-West region of Russia.

To achieve its goals, the Association performs the following functions: develops and sends to government and management bodies, as well as to the Bank of Russia and the ARB, proposals for the implementation of regional monetary policy and regulation of the activities of credit institutions; provides its members with legal, organizational, advisory and other assistance in specific situations, participates in the resolution of property and other disputes between credit institutions at their request; informs credit organizations about decisions of government and management bodies, tax authorities and the Bank of Russia, decisions made by courts, arbitration and arbitration tribunals on disputes related to the activities of credit organizations; participates in the organization of conferences, symposia, seminars, exhibitions on current issues of monetary policy and banking and participates in their implementation; cooperates with Russian and foreign unions, associations and other associations of credit institutions, financiers and commodity producers; helps improve the professional level of managers and specialists of credit institutions; organizes and carries out information and publishing activities, informs the public about the situation of the monetary system of the North-West region; publishes the Bulletin of the Association of Banks of North-West Russia with various appendices, and covers in it and in the media the experience of the activities of financial and credit organizations in the region.

Over the past 12 years since its creation, the Association has become a real economic and political force that has a significant impact on the socio-economic development of the region, and primarily the banking sector and financial markets of St. Petersburg. The result of the Association’s activities was the development of the “Banking Code”, which was signed by the majority of banks - members of the Association. Its adoption is a major step towards strengthening customer confidence in the activities of commercial banks in the city. The Association, together with the Administration of St. Petersburg and a number of commercial banks in the city, is the founder of the only St. Petersburg Fund in Russia to ensure the safety of deposits and deposits of citizens in commercial banks and actively participates in the development and implementation of programs for its development.

Agency for Restructuring of Credit Institutions (ARCO). A description of the modern structure of the Russian banking system would not be complete without mentioning ARCO, whose place in the banking system does not have a clear legislative definition. It was created in January 1999 to implement the developed program for restructuring the banking system. ARCO was initially established as a non-bank credit organization "Agency for Restructuring Credit Institutions" (NCO "ARCO"), the purpose of which was primarily to overcome the crisis of the banking system, restoring its ability to fully ensure the performance of its basic functions. In connection with the entry into force of the Federal Law of July 8, 1999 No. 144-FZ “On the restructuring of credit organizations” (as amended on March 21, 02) [SZ RF. 1999. No. 28. Art. 3477; 2002. No. 12. Art. 1093.] in July 1999, the NPO "ARKO" was transformed into the State Corporation "Agency for the Restructuring of Credit Institutions", the legal status, functions and powers of which are also determined by the Federal Law of January 12, 1996 No. 7-FZ "On Non-Commercial organizations" (as amended on 12/28/02) [NW RF. 1996. No. 3. Art. 145; 1998. No. 48. Art. 5849; 1999. No. 28. Art. 3473; 2002. No. 12. Art. 1093; No. 52 (part 1). Art. 5141.]. This Law clearly defined the powers to restructure the banking system of the Bank of Russia and the State Corporation "Agency for Restructuring of Credit Institutions", as well as the conditions and procedures for interaction between the Bank of Russia and ARCO. The latter has the right to carry out the following operations and transactions in relation to credit institutions when carrying out measures for their restructuring:

• provide loans to credit institutions managed by ARCO;
• open and maintain bank accounts of credit institutions managed by ARCO;
• conduct settlements on behalf of correspondent credit institutions managed by ARCO in their bank accounts;
• carry out collection of bills, payment and settlement documents;
• buy and sell at open auctions, transfer shares (shares) of credit institutions under the management of ARCO as collateral;
• buy and sell at market value, transfer bonds, savings and deposit certificates, checks, promissory notes and bills of exchange and other securities as security;
• finance under the assignment of rights of claim to credit institutions and borrowers of credit institutions;
• issue guarantees, bank guarantees, bills, as well as issue bonds and other debt obligations under guarantees of the Government of the Russian Federation;
• provide loans, place deposits, provide collateral to third parties acquiring obligations;
• place temporarily available funds in the manner established by the ARCO Board of Directors;
• carry out other operations and transactions in accordance with current federal legislation.

ARCO can carry out operations and transactions in rubles and foreign currency. The highest management body of ARCO is the Board of Directors, which includes 13 members: 7 representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, 5 representatives of the Bank of Russia and the General Director (member of the Board of Directors ex officio). The sources of financing for ARCO's activities are the authorized capital and own funds, funds from budgets of various levels, loans from the Bank of Russia, funds from international financial organizations, the profit of ARCO itself, etc.

One of ARCO’s important activities is working with assets acquired from credit institutions or transferred to its management. It acquires assets, including in the form of property complexes, participates in concluding transactions for the purchase and sale of assets as an intermediary, and organizes trading platforms for this purpose. Assets are acquired both from credit institutions that are under the management of ARCO, and from other operating and liquidating credit institutions. The purpose of acquiring assets from credit institutions managed by ARCO is to restructure the credit institution in accordance with the agreed plan. The acquisition of assets from other credit institutions is carried out at their market value, which ensures the formation of a market for problematic, low-liquidity banking assets.

Roszagranbanki are the successors of foreign banks that were transferred to the balance sheet of the Bank of Russia in accordance with the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation dated February 10, 1992 No. 2326-1 “On measures to stabilize the financial position of foreign banks with the participation of the capital of the former USSR” [VSND and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation . 1992. No. 8. Art. 377.]. At the same time, the Bank of Russia was allowed to accept shares of foreign banks on its balance sheet and was entrusted with the operational management of them, making decisions on their preservation, support, reorganization or liquidation. The Bank of Russia was also given the right to review the composition of shareholders of foreign banks. After the collapse of the USSR, Soviet foreign banks found themselves on the verge of ruin due to the fact that the provision of centralized resources to them for refinancing loans received from Western countries was stopped. In order to prevent bankruptcy and liquidation of Russian foreign banks, the Bank of Russia, together with Vnesheconombank, provided them with a number of rehabilitation loans in various forms. The Bank of Russia also significantly increased its participation in the share capital of Russian foreign banks. Thanks to the measures taken, their network was preserved, but at present they no longer perform the functions for which they were once created.

According to the Development Strategy of the Banking Sector of the Russian Federation, the Bank of Russia must withdraw from the shareholders of Russian foreign banks, for which appropriate changes must be made to the current legislation.

The largest bank, the controlling stake of which belongs directly to the Government of the Russian Federation, is Vneshtorgbank. Until 2002, the Bank of Russia was the controlling shareholder of this bank, which in 1999 acquired additional ordinary shares of this bank. They were issued by decision of shareholders to restore its solvency after the crisis of 1998. As a result, the Bank of Russia’s share in Vneshtorgbank’s share capital increased to 99.9% and amounted to 22.3 billion rubles, or 61.8% of the Bank of Russia’s investments in shares Russian and foreign banks [According to the annual report of the Bank of Russia for 1999].

The Bank for Foreign Trade of the Russian Federation (Vneshtorgbank) was created in 1990 and is currently one of the leading banks in the country. Its authorized capital is 42.1 billion rubles. Currently, the largest shareholder of Vneshtorgbank with a share of 99.9% is the Government of the Russian Federation. Its other shareholders are VEP Gazexport, Sberbank, Energomashexport CJSC, Ingosstrakh OJSC, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. The size of Vneshtrogbank's own funds as of January 1, 2003 amounted to 58.7 billion rubles, and net assets - 179.4 billion rubles. Net profit at the end of 2002 amounted to 9.3 billion rubles. In the list of the 1000 largest banks in the world by capital for 2001, published in the authoritative magazine “The Banker”, Vneshtorgbank took 174th place - the highest among banks in Central and Eastern Europe.

Vneshtorgbank is one of the leading creditors of the Russian economy; its loan investments in the non-financial sector as of January 1, 2003 amounted to 75.8 billion rubles. The largest share is occupied by credit investments in enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, mechanical engineering and trade, including foreign trade. Vneshtorgbank has the highest solvency rating among Russian banks from international rating agencies. Russian rating agencies traditionally include it in the highest reliability group.

Vneshtorgbank has one of the most extensive correspondent networks among Russian banks - more than 1,400 correspondent banks, including more than 1,000 abroad, including the CIS. As of January 1, 2003, Vneshtorgbank had 42 branches and 56 additional offices. Abroad, it is represented by 4 subsidiary banks: in Zurich (Switzerland), Limassol (Cyprus), Vienna (Austria) and Luxembourg, as well as an associated bank in Frankfurt am Main (Germany), representative offices in Milan (Italy), Beijing (China) and Kyiv (Ukraine).

In countries at the stage of transition to a market economy, including Russia, banks with state participation play a stabilizing role, ensuring the maintenance of confidence in the banking system and lending to the real sector in conditions of uncertainty and high financial risks. But for banks with state participation to effectively fulfill their stabilizing role, the state must clearly define the goals and priorities of its participation in the banking system. The lack of specific tasks that these banks must solve within the framework of the current state economic policy is the main problem of Russian banks with state participation. In addition, there are no clear procedures for monitoring the activities of the latter by the state itself, as well as the effectiveness of the work of state representatives in their governing bodies. The activities of banks with state participation will be effective only if their formation is conditioned by the presence of clearly defined tasks of a general economic or industry nature, which for one reason or another cannot be solved by banks operating on a commercial basis. An example of the state creating a bank with clearly defined goals is Rosselkhozbank.

Creation concept Rosselkhozbank was approved at the end of December 1999. Its formation is divided into two stages. Initially, Rosselkhozbank should function as a wholesale bank, i.e., lend to borrowers through authorized banks; part of the assets of SBS-Agro was transferred to it, namely loans provided to borrowers from the concessional lending fund. Then it is planned to create Rosselkhozbank’s own branch network and complete the formation of its authorized capital. The bank was created in the form of an open joint-stock company, its founder is ARKO, which in 2000 fully paid the authorized capital in the amount of 375 million rubles, which served as the basis for issuing a license to Rosselkhozbank OJSC to carry out banking operations. In the future, 51% of the shares of Rosselkhozbank will be purchased by the Government of the Russian Federation, and the rest by regional administrations and other shareholders [Russia. Economic and financial situation. Ed. Bank of Russia. 2000. June. P. 38.].

Banks with foreign participation- these are banks in the authorized capital of which a certain share belongs to non-residents - legal entities and individuals. In this group, banks controlled by foreign capital are especially distinguished, i.e. those in which a controlling stake belongs to non-residents. As of January 1, 2003, there were 129 credit institutions operating in Russia with foreign participation in the authorized capital, of which only 38 were under the control of foreign capital. At the same time, in 28 credit institutions, 100% of the authorized capital belonged to non-residents and in 10, the share of foreign capital exceeded 50% [Russia. Economic and financial situation. Ed. Bank of Russia. 2003. Feb. P. 58.]. The main activities of credit institutions controlled by foreign capital are:

• foreign trade lending and servicing foreign trade turnover between the country in which the foreign bank is located and the Russian Federation;
• banking services for companies in the country in which the bank is located and transnational corporations operating in the Russian market;
• providing a range of modern banking services to national enterprises and organizations;
• financial intermediation between foreign and Russian financial markets.

Banks with predominant foreign capital participation, as a rule, are subsidiaries of well-known foreign banks. The latter, through the establishment of subsidiary banks, accompany their global clients entering the Russian market.

Subsidiary banks receive resources mainly from their parent banks, but may also resort to borrowing on international financial markets. Despite the absence of restrictions on attracting deposits from individuals, foreign banks are very cautious in entering the Russian private deposit market. This is explained by high political risks and a high probability of “depositor panic.”

The presence of banks controlled by foreign capital in the Russian banking market helps attract foreign direct investment into the country's economy; the expansion of their activities serves as indirect confirmation of an improvement in the investment climate. Foreign banks use new financial technologies, modern banking products, and the latest information systems, which is extremely important for improving the Russian banking system. They are distinguished by high business standards and qualified management. Concern for their own reputation keeps these banks from cooperating with the shadow sector. In this regard, the influx of foreign capital with a solid reputation is considered by the Bank of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation as a potentially important factor in the development of the country's banking sector, contributing to the formation of a competitive market for banking services. In the medium term, there are no plans to introduce restrictions on the participation of foreign capital in the banking sector. In other words, a quota for the participation of foreign capital in the banking system of Russia, the possibility of introducing which is provided for by the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities” [The specified quota is calculated as the ratio of the total capital owned by non-residents in the authorized capitals of credit institutions with foreign investments, and the capital of branches of foreign banks to total authorized capital of credit institutions registered on the territory of the Russian Federation.] will not be established in the coming years.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that the increased activity in the Russian market of those foreign banks that are backed by financial institutions with a dubious reputation poses a potential threat to the stability of the banking system. In this regard, there is currently a permissive principle for admitting foreign capital to the Russian banking sector, according to which a credit institution is required to obtain prior permission from the Bank of Russia to increase its authorized capital at the expense of non-residents and alienate its shares in favor of the latter.

After the August 1998 crisis, there was a tendency to expand the presence of foreign capital in the Russian banking sector. The volume of foreign investments in the authorized capital of Russian banks (in dollar equivalent) increased in 1999 by more than 2.7 times. The share of participation of non-residents in the total registered authorized capital of operating credit institutions as of April 1, 2000 amounted to 9.65% [Money and credit. 2000. No. 6. P. 10.], which was due to both an increase in the volume of investments by non-residents in the authorized capitals of Russian banks and a sharp reduction in capital.

Currently, the share of non-residents in the total registered authorized capital of Russian credit institutions is low, for example, as of October 1, 2002, it amounted to 5.18% [Russia. Economic and financial situation. Ed. Bank of Russia. 2002. Dec. P. 29.], but there is a tendency for its growth. In the near future, the Bank of Russia, together with the Government of the Russian Federation, plans to develop measures to facilitate the expansion of the activities of banks with the participation of foreign capital, including measures for the free repatriation of profits. To attract foreign investment into the Russian banking system, legislative support for investor rights must be improved, favorable tax conditions for foreign investment must be created, non-commercial risks reduced and the transition to international accounting standards must be accelerated.

According to organizational forms, a distinction is made between banks created as limited liability companies and joint-stock banks.

Bank in the form of a limited liability company (LLC)- is a bank established by one or more persons, the authorized capital of which is divided according to the constituent documents into shares of certain sizes. Participants in such a bank are not liable for its obligations and bear the risk of losses associated with the activities of the bank within the value of the deposits made by them. Members who have not made full deposits are jointly and severally liable for the bank's obligations to the extent of the value of the unpaid portion of each member's contribution. A bank created in the form of an LLC may have a single founder, but another business company consisting of one person does not have the right to be one. The number of participants in a bank in the form of an LLC should not be more than 50. If it exceeds the limit established by law, it must be transformed into an open joint-stock company. If this requirement is not met, the bank is subject to judicial liquidation.

A bank participant in the form of an LLC has the right to sell or otherwise assign its share (or part thereof) in the authorized capital to one or more other bank participants. The possibility of alienating a participant's share to third parties must be specifically stipulated in the bank's charter.

A participant in such a bank has the right to leave the bank at any time, regardless of the consent of its other members, with the exception of the founders, who do not have the right to leave the membership during the first three years from the date of registration of the bank. The latter is obliged to pay to its participant who submitted an application for withdrawal the actual value of his share within six months from the end of the financial year during which the application for withdrawal was submitted, unless a shorter period is provided for by the bank’s charter. The actual value of the retiring participant's share is determined on the basis of the bank's financial statements for that year and is paid from the difference between the value of the bank's net assets and the size of its authorized capital. If this amount is not enough to pay the share, the bank is obliged to reduce its authorized capital by the missing amount. If, according to the charter, the share cannot be alienated to third parties, and other bank participants refuse to acquire it, the bank is obliged to pay the participant the actual value of his share or to issue in kind property corresponding to this value.

This situation contains a potential threat to the financial stability of the bank, since payment to a participant of the actual value of his share leads to a decrease in the bank’s own capital, and, consequently, to an increase in the risk of insolvency. In this regard, the predominant form of creating banks in the Russian Federation is the joint-stock form. However, during the period of mass creation of banks in 1991 - 1995. The main organizational and legal form of Russian banks was the form of a limited liability company (partnership). Currently, among operating banks, approximately 40% are banks in the form of LLCs and 60% in the form of joint stock companies.

Joint stock bank- this is a bank whose authorized capital is divided into a certain number of shares certifying the liability rights of its participants (shareholders) in relation to this bank. Shareholders are not liable for the obligations of the latter and bear the risk of losses associated with its activities, within the limits of the value of the shares they own. Shareholders who have not fully paid for the shares bear joint liability for the bank's obligations to the extent of the unpaid portion of the value of the shares they own.

A joint-stock bank, like any other joint-stock company, is liable for its obligations with all its property. But it is not responsible for the obligations of its shareholders.

A joint-stock bank can be an open or closed joint-stock company, which is reflected in its charter and corporate name.

Shareholders of an open joint-stock company (OJSC) bank may alienate their shares without the consent of other shareholders. Such a bank has the right to conduct an open subscription for the shares it issues and carry out their free sale. It can also conduct a closed subscription, unless this is prohibited by its charter or the requirements of legal acts of the Russian Federation. The number of shareholders of such a bank is not limited.

A bank whose shares are distributed only among its founders or other previously determined circle of persons is recognized as a closed joint-stock company (CJSC). Such a bank does not have the right to conduct an open subscription for the shares it issues or otherwise offer them to an unlimited number of persons. The number of shareholders of a closed company bank should not exceed 50. If it exceeds this limit, then the bank must transform into an open company within one year. Otherwise, it is subject to liquidation in court.

New opportunities for diversifying the structure of the banking system are opened by such an organizational and legal form of banks, permitted by Russian banking legislation, as additional liability companies (ALC). This is a company established by one or more persons, the authorized capital of which is divided into shares, the sizes of which are determined by the constituent documents.

Participants in an ALC jointly and severally bear subsidiary liability for its obligations with their property in the same multiple of the value of their contributions, determined by the constituent documents of the company. In the event of bankruptcy of one of the participants, his liability for the obligations of the company is distributed among the remaining members in proportion to their contributions (unless a different procedure for the distribution of liability is provided for by the constituent documents of the company).

World experience shows that the form of an additional liability company is typical for such credit organizations as mutual credit societies, mutual savings, cooperative banks, etc. In the Russian Federation, banks in the form of additional liability companies currently do not exist.

Branches and representative offices of banks. In the Russian Federation, all banks and other credit organizations have the right to open separate divisions - branches and representative offices, information about which must be contained in their charter. Branches and representative offices of a credit institution are not legal entities. They operate on the basis of regulations approved by the credit institution that created them, and are considered open from the moment of notification to the Bank of Russia.

A branch of a credit organization is its separate division, located outside the location of the credit organization and carrying out on its behalf all or part of the banking operations provided for by the Bank of Russia license issued to the credit organization. A representative office of a credit organization is its separate division, located outside the location of the credit organization, representing its interests and protecting them. The representative office does not have the right to carry out banking operations. It is created to ensure the bank’s representative functions, transactions and other legal actions. It does not provide cash and credit services to clients and does not have a correspondent sub-account. To carry out business expenses, a current account is opened for him.

As of January 1, 1999, Russian credit organizations had 4,453 branches and 183 representative offices in the Russian Federation. By January 1, 2000, the number of branches decreased to 3923. During the same period, Sberbank's branch network decreased from 1852 to 1689 branches. In 2000 - 2001 The process of reducing the branch network of Russian credit institutions continued. As of January 1, 2002, only 3,433 branches of credit institutions were operating in the Russian Federation, including 1,233 branches of Sberbank. As of December 1, 2002, the branch network of banks was reduced to 3331 [Russia. Economic and financial situation. Ed. Bank of Russia. 2002. Dec. P. 48.]. The number of representative offices of Russian banks in Russia by the end of 2002 was 158.

A credit organization (branch) can also open internal structural divisions outside the location of the parent organization and branch: additional offices, operating cash desks outside the cash desk, exchange offices.

With the permission of the Bank of Russia, credit organizations can create branches and establish subsidiaries on the territory of a foreign state. To open foreign representative offices, you only need to notify the Bank of Russia. In 2002, only 4 branches of Russian credit institutions operated on the territory of foreign countries. By the end of 2002, the number of representative offices of Russian credit institutions in non-CIS countries reached 29, in the CIS and Baltic countries - 15 [Ibid. P. 29.].

Transformation results. Analyzing the more than ten-year period of formation and development of domestic banks, which are located at the epicenter of the domestic economy and are an integral part of the economic complex of our country, several main points can be highlighted. Firstly, there has been a change in the role of banks in the country's economy. Secondly, a legal space for the activities of credit institutions was created. Thirdly, the integration of the Russian banking system into the global financial market began to take place. Fourthly, commercial banks and the system as a whole have accumulated some experience in overcoming crisis situations and have recognized the need for restructuring.

Transformation of the socio-economic environment in the late 1980s - early 1990s. contributed to the growth of the prestige of banking, a radical change in the functions and tasks of credit institutions, and the emergence of new problems and prospects. However, during this period the banking system experienced several crises. Their main reason was internal problems, among which it should be noted: a low level of capitalization, insufficient to organize full-fledged credit services to industry, agriculture and other sectors of the economy; focus on current tasks, lack of long-term strategy; the arrival of a significant number of untrained workers as a result of low requirements for the professional qualifications of banking personnel, which negatively affected the quality of work of banks and the stability of the system as a whole; unjustified staff growth in the banking sector due to high wages. So, in the early 1990s. for each employee of a domestic bank there were 20 - 30 clients, while in Western banks - from 100 to 300.

These problems led to the following shortcomings in banking activities: during the entire period of radical reforms, the main function - the transformation of savings into investments - was practically not performed; there was a disconnect from the real economy caused by basic deformations of the economic system; the scale of short-term loans remained extremely limited and there were virtually no long-term loans to the real sector of the economy; for a long time, the largest volume of banking assets was occupied by investments in government securities and foreign currency; there was no interbank credit market; dominated by the methods of old management associated with the low level of professionalism of bank management, etc.

At the same time, it should be noted that the state of the Russian banking sector reflects the general state of the economy, the financial sector, the tax system and legal regulation. Therefore, another group of reasons that led to a sharp aggravation of the situation in the banking system, along with directly internal bank difficulties, is directly related to the market transformations themselves. Their lack of justification and inconsistency, coupled with the problems that had accumulated over previous years, caused political destabilization, economic collapse, budget deficit, and depreciation of banking assets and personal savings of the population. By the end of the 1990s. the volume of industrial production decreased by 58%, GDP decreased by more than 40%, and even the simple reproduction of fixed production assets stopped. The economy turned out to be “unfolded” from the real sector (11). The most significant factors that caused the crisis include the advantage of extensive economic development without a significant increase in the technical level of production and product quality; the steady involvement of natural raw materials into the national economic circulation, increasing imbalances in the main factors of production, the growth of capital-intensive industries, increasing material and energy intensity of production while reducing labor productivity, falling world prices for energy resources, a gradual reduction in sources of accumulation for expanded reproduction; deepening inter-level inconsistency of management influences, etc.

In addition, the course of market reforms is significantly influenced by the characteristics of the Russian economy, determined by subjective and objective factors. These are, first of all, the gigantic scale of the territory, the high level of monopolization of production, the sectoral system of management and social division of labor, the deep structural and material-financial disproportionality of the economy, the low standard of living of the population, etc. All this complicates and slows down the transition to market relations, making it unacceptable to use pure form of existing Western concepts of building a market economy and foreign experience.

Tasks of the new stage. The current stage of market transformations of the Russian economy can still be called transitional. It is characterized by insufficient development of a number of the most important markets and market institutions, appropriate legal and information support, poor integration in industry, unavailability of loans for real sector enterprises both in terms of rates and terms, high inflation rates, ongoing capital flight from the country, etc. The need to form a rational economic structure requires continued reforms. They should be aimed at strengthening the institutional foundation, supporting priority production and life support systems for the population, developing the financial sector, and widespread introduction of modern management and information technologies in banking, insurance, investment and other structures.

At the same time, it is important to consolidate the emerging positive trends by concentrating resources and selective government support for structural changes.

The progressive technical lag of Russia by the beginning of the 21st century. poses a real threat. According to the Center for Economic Situations under the Government of the Russian Federation in 2001, the degree of depreciation of the active part of fixed assets exceeded the average (15 years) and amounted to: in the chemical and petrochemical industries - about 80%, in mechanical engineering, oil refining, production of building materials - more than 70% ( 4, pp. 3 - 12).

In 2001, a positive trend in investment activity was observed, amounting to 7.8% (15, p. 13). In accordance with the medium-term Program of socio-economic development of Russia for 2002 - 2004. the annual increase in investments in fixed capital should be at least 10 - 20%. Increased investment activity is expected to be maintained for 5-7 years. Sources for updating fixed assets are domestic savings, loans, and foreign investments. A radical improvement in the investment climate, as well as the priority development of sectors that could realize Russia’s competitive advantages, are significant factors in the renewal of fixed assets.

The banking sector plays an important role in mobilizing domestic capital for long-term investments in large-scale re-equipment of production and the agricultural sector. But in 2001, the share of bank loans in investments of enterprises and organizations of all forms of ownership in fixed capital was only 2.9%. There was a decrease of 1.9% compared to 1999 (5). The intensification of the activities of credit institutions to transform the savings of the population and enterprises into investments is hampered by a shortage of medium- and long-term banking resources. At the end of 2001, the share of deposits with a maturity of more than one year was about 7% of the total liabilities of the banking sector (as of July 1, 1998, this figure was at the level of 8%), and household deposits in real terms amounted to only 83.7% of the pre-crisis level .

Another factor preventing credit institutions from investing in production is the high level of risk due to the insufficient pace of structural transformations in the economy. Thus, by the end of 2001, credit investments in the real sector of the economy exceeded the pre-crisis level (as of July 1, 1998) by 35.5%. At the same time, the volume of overdue debt on these loans in January - September 2001 increased by 47%, which is 1.3 times higher than the growth rate of lending (15, pp. 22, 23). In addition, it should be noted that there is limited demand for loans from solvent borrowers. The reason for this situation, along with high interest rates, is the low degree of trust between banks and enterprises, which is explained by the lack of transparency in both the financial and non-financial sectors of the economy.

The ability to access detailed and reliable information about the performance indicators, capital structure and financial position of any business entity, understandable to informed users, contributes to the growth of economic activity.

From a macroeconomic point of view, the following question arises: which sector of the economy is in greater need of restructuring - banks and other financial institutions, industry or agriculture? Some researchers of monetary problems express the opinion that restructuring should begin with the banking system. But commercial banks can operate stably and successfully only in a steadily developing economy, and their performance indicators are largely determined by the quality of the client base, since solvent borrowers with good financial condition contribute to increasing banking stability.

It is obvious that banking restructuring cannot be considered as a separate phenomenon, since its activities are closely related to the conditions that set the state of the real sector of the economy. The close relationship between the financial, credit and other sectors of the economy determines the need to carry out reforms in all areas simultaneously, contributing to the transformation of the production, non-production and financial sectors, as well as state legal and tax regulation. Therefore, overcoming negative factors in the functioning of the banking system, as well as adapting to new economic conditions, which led to the disruption of established connections and proportions, and the formation of new fundamental approaches to the organization of banking, should be carried out in line with national reforms.

The Strategy for the Development of the Banking Sector (19), approved by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia, determines that the guidelines for its transformation are the achievement of the following indicators: the ratio of banking system assets and GDP - 45 - 50%, capital and GDP - 5 - 6%, loans to real sector and GDP - 15 - 16%, while the share of such loans in banking assets should be 40%. For comparison, we present the values ​​of these indicators for 2001: banking assets and GDP - 33.4%; capital and GDP - 4.1%, loans to the real sector and GDP - 11.3%, the share of such loans in relation to banking assets - 33.7%.

The timing of achieving goals and solving immediate tasks for reforming the banking sector, the dynamics of quantitative parameters depend largely on the general pace and nature of economic development and structural transformations in the Russian economy according to the following indicators that are basic for the banking sector: the real volume and structure of GDP; dynamics of inflation, exchange rates and market interest rates; level of monetization of the economy, reduction in the share of barter transactions, non-monetary and cash forms of payment. Therefore, for the reforms to be effective, it is necessary to coordinate the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation with the interested participation of the credit institutions themselves in accordance with the macroeconomic trends of the Russian and international financial markets.

Role of the State. State assistance to restructuring processes is expressed in the performance of the following functions:

• defining the national development strategy;
• identifying macroeconomic and structural imbalances that cannot be eliminated by market mechanisms, as well as ensuring the balance of these imbalances by administrative methods;
• developing and implementing effective structural policies and stimulating positive structural changes in all sectors of the economy;
• maintaining financial stability, and above all based on a balanced budget;
• the formation of a fair, neutral and effective tax system in order to reduce the tax burden on economic entities and create favorable conditions for the development of entrepreneurship;
• developing norms and rules of conduct for agents of economic relations, ensuring economic security and counteracting destabilizing factors;
• creating a favorable investment climate;
• supporting domestic producers and coordinating the activities of national businesses in the context of globalization of the world economy; and etc.

State policy regarding the restructuring of the banking sector is aimed at ensuring systemic stability and creating the necessary conditions for the development of the banking services market on the basis of healthy intra-industry and inter-industry competition (19). The state forms the legal framework for banking activities, monitors the implementation of legislative norms, prevents the use of the banking sector for illegal transactions, and during reorganization procedures ensures the protection of the legitimate interests of creditors and depositors, as well as the transparency of reform. At the same time, uniform requirements are imposed on the activities of all credit institutions in accordance with established principles, taking into account commercial interests and prudential standards. State influence on the banking sector is carried out mainly through indirect methods, but direct influence through participation in the capital of credit institutions will be maintained in conditions of economic instability.

Solving the problems of restructuring requires taking into account regional characteristics and interests. This requires an active federal policy aimed at strengthening the processes of interregional integration, reducing differentiation in the levels of socio-economic development of regions, and ensuring the free movement of goods, services and labor throughout the Russian Federation. At the same time, it is especially important to continue to improve inter-budgetary relations to create legal, financial and economic mechanisms that increase the responsibility of regional and local authorities for decisions made.

Thus, the subsequent development of the country’s economy will be determined by nationwide consolidation, the unification of the efforts of the main participants in socio-economic and political processes - the state, business and society.

An important fundamental document is the Program of Socio-Economic Development of the Country for 2002 - 2004, adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation, which is an integral part of the long-term strategy. The medium-term Program absorbed the experience of 2000 - 2001. on the implementation of socio-economic measures and is aimed at creating a favorable business climate and conditions for economic growth in the country, increasing the stability of the financial system, the effectiveness of social protection of the population and, in general, maintaining the market course of reforms.

One of the main tasks identified by the Program is to strengthen and improve the banking system, which plays an important role in moving Russia along the path of market reforms. Carrying out further restructuring will increase the functional importance of the banking system in the country's economy. A strong, renewed banking industry is capable of providing credit support for the restructuring of the non-financial sector, as well as the creation and operation of innovative networks, which represent a promising direction for the integration of business entities from all sectors of the economy.

However, the formation of a market banking system is ambiguous, during which forward movement is replaced by deep crises. In addition, according to experts, the banking system does not yet play an active role in accelerating economic growth, and the positive dynamics of domestic production in recent years (1999 - 2002) is based mainly on self-financing of enterprises in the real sector. Therefore, the need to solve such problems as stabilizing the development of the banking business, expanding lending to the real sector, strengthening the legal framework of banking, transition to international standards, improving the quality of performance of basic functions, attracting depositors and investors, countering the use of banks for laundering illegally obtained income, and a number of others requires subsequent restructuring of the banking system, which will occur under the influence of global trends.

Problems of the Russian banking system. The unfavorable situation in the country's economy and banking sector did not arise unexpectedly. The current phase of the crisis of the banking system is of a permanent, sluggish nature with periodic exacerbations - in the fall of 1994, in August 1995 and 1998. The peculiarity of the last manifestation of the crisis was that it acquired a nationwide scope and became a turning point in the activities of credit institutions, when half-hearted measures to restore the normal functioning of banks could no longer bring the desired results.

Crisis of 1998 The August 1998 crisis exposed the weaknesses of the banking system. It became obvious that the difficulties of individual banks should be considered as problems of the banking system as a whole, therefore a radical restructuring of the entire banking industry was necessary.

The sharp and unexpected depreciation of the ruble during that period led to the withdrawal of deposits of individuals in rubles and foreign currency. There was a massive outflow of resources from the banking system. The volume of private deposits decreased from August 1 to December 1, 1998 in real terms by 47.1% in rubles and by 52.4% in foreign currency (5).

It should be noted that six months before the crisis, competition for liabilities developed widely. This allowed banks at that time not only to survive, but also to increase the volume of their business. Large banks, which were widely known, occupied the leading position in the private deposit market. Thus, Inkombank and SBS-Agro managed to increase the volume of funds raised from citizens by more than 2 times over the 8 months of 1998.

Therefore, it was the large systemically important banks that suffered the greatest losses during the massive withdrawal of funds.

In the pre-crisis period, the financial dependence of banks on non-residents reached a high level. The active growth of borrowings by Russian banks on the international financial market by August 1998 was manifested in a large volume of obligations to non-resident banks for loans, deposits and other funds raised in the amount of $11.2 billion. and under fixed-term contracts for the supply of foreign currency - $15.1 billion. After the default was announced, the flow of foreign interbank loans stopped.

Consequences of the crisis. The loss by commercial banks of a significant amount of their resources, the freezing of the most liquid assets, the forced liquidation of assets to satisfy the rush demand for cash and other negative factors led to a disruption in the normal functioning of banks. The domestic interbank market turned out to be paralyzed. There were disruptions in the payment system; a number of banks stopped payments to their clients, including payments to the budget of all levels and to extra-budgetary funds. The banking system was unable to fulfill the function of servicing the country’s economic turnover, which increased the demonetization of the economy. The banks' obligations to Russian and foreign creditors and clients were not fulfilled, which led to a loss of confidence in them among the population, enterprises and foreign partners. It was precisely as a result of the loss of confidence in the entire banking system that the country's economy suffered the greatest damage, which has not yet been overcome.

The situation was aggravated by a deficit in the capital base of credit institutions, which did not allow maintaining liquidity at the required level. There was a significant reduction in total banking liquidity with a simultaneous deterioration in the quality of the loan portfolio and an increase in bad debt. As a result, the number of problem banks increased sharply, their share in the total assets of operating banks increased from 12.1 in August to 43.8% in December 1998. During the same period, losses of the banking system increased from 2.5 to 36.4 billion rubles . (5).

Manifestations of the crisis. The external manifestations of the banking system crisis were:

• changes in its structure, a significant share of which was occupied by insolvent credit institutions;
• significant weakening of the capital base of credit institutions;
• the inability of a significant number of credit institutions to perform their functions in full;
• crisis of confidence in banking market participants;
• making payments in the economy bypassing the banking system, a significant increase in the use of money surrogates;
• decrease in lending activity of commercial banks.

The reasons that led to this situation can be grouped into three groups:

1. external problems related to the economic, political and social situation in the country;
2. systemic problems affecting the entire banking sector;
3. problems of the activities of individual credit institutions.

A negative external factor was a combination of economic and monetary and financial problems, which were expressed in the budget deficit, the growth of internal and external debt, the inability of the state to fulfill its obligations on issued securities, payment of salaries, pensions, etc. The economy was negatively affected by the fall in global prices for oil and other raw materials, as a result of which export earnings in the structure of the balance of payments decreased significantly.

A large debt of the state, banks and other financial institutions to foreign investors arose. There was a significant jump in inflation in the complete absence of additional emissions and inflationary expectations. At the same time, the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Bank of Russia sharply decreased; from July 1 to September 1, 1998, it spent $9.1 billion. to maintain the exchange rate. The work of most banks was focused on the stable functioning of the government securities market and a predictable exchange rate, so the factors listed above caused destabilization of the situation in the banking sector and provoked a crisis.

Despite the fact that macroeconomic circumstances largely determine the activities of banks from the outside, the crisis might not have acquired such proportions if the banking system had been more stable. The unstable situation within the banking system was associated with a number of unresolved problems, which included a low level of the capital base, a large volume of overdue credit debt, underestimation of credit risks, a predominant focus on conducting speculative operations, etc. The current situation was aggravated by the insufficient development of legal norms for the activities of credit banks. organizations, their rehabilitation and bankruptcy, as well as the inadequacy of supervisory requirements.

Many experts noted the formalism in the organization of banking supervision, as a result of which it became possible for banks to present unreliable economic and financial information. One of the weaknesses of the created supervisory system can be called its focus on an average universal bank, which in no way limited the focus on short-term profit and did not stimulate the expansion of banks’ work with industry, agriculture and other sectors of the real sector.

Insufficient attention to lending to the production process and the possibility of obtaining quick income in speculative areas of activity have led to a significant increase in the share of credit institutions in the banking system that do not meet the needs of the economy, which was one of the causes of the crisis.

The rapid expansion of banks in the early 1990s. contributed to the uncertainty of the economic situation, when one economic system was destroyed and a new one was not created. The same applied to the situation in the legislative sphere. The problem was not only the need to form a new legislative framework, but also to create an effective mechanism for its application.

In such circumstances, the procedure for obtaining a banking license was simplified, and since the rate of profit in this area was one of the highest, there was a sharp increase in the number of commercial banks against the backdrop of a general economic depression. Many of these banks were focused on issuing short-term loans at inflated interest rates and conducting transactions that brought in the largest immediate income. The adoption by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation of regulations stimulating responsible behavior of credit institutions has led to a gradual reduction in fly-by-night banks. It should be noted that the presence of such banks in a market economy can be considered a normal phenomenon, but until their number exceeds a certain threshold. It is then that they become a problem for the banking system as a whole and can initiate crisis situations.

A significant part of the funds of domestic and foreign banks operating in our market at that time was used to purchase GKOs and OFZs. About 11% of all Russian banks had investments in the amount of more than 20% of working assets; for subsidiary foreign banks this figure was higher - 50% (6, p. 29). GKOs and OFZs as instruments of the financial market played a significant role in its development and became highly attractive to investors. They were used by banks as an instrument of current liquidity and were an important source of income. At the same time, no one was embarrassed by the contradiction expressed in the fact that government securities, which were the least risky in nature, provided the highest profitability. The level of interest rates on them formed the lower limit for market rates on loans to non-financial borrowers. In addition, they served as security for obligations to non-residents. The size of investments in GKOs approximately corresponded to the amount of funds raised by banks from the population. As a result, banks found themselves hostage to the state budget, and the suspension of payments on these instruments served as an impetus for the aggravation of the crisis situation. In addition to investments in GKOs and OFZs, significant competition for production came from dollars, which were very attractive both for storing the savings of individuals and for investing bank capital.

Thus, the scope of operational activities of banks in the pre-crisis situation can be characterized as follows: small scale of lending to enterprises in the real sector, steady growth of investments in securities in conditions of extremely inflated profitability of market financial instruments, and, in particular, government debt obligations, speculation in the foreign exchange market . The paradox of the situation is that operations that for quite a long time predetermined relatively more favorable financial results of the banking system compared to other sectors of the Russian economy, including intensive use of the opportunities of the government securities markets, international credit resources, as well as household funds, had an impact during the period crisis has had a devastating impact on the financial condition of most banks (12).

Banks and the real sector. As already noted, many problems of the banking industry were associated with the isolation of banking activities from the real sector of the economy. At the same time, there were at least two objective reasons preventing banks from intensifying their work with the real sector of the economy - the insolvency of most enterprises and the low level of bank capital.

The low quality of the loan portfolio was largely determined by the level of bank management, which was reflected in the banks’ weak control over the issuance and intended use of loans, formal attitude towards business plans submitted by enterprises, assessment of the creditworthiness of borrowers and the level of security of issued funds. The situation with the repayment of loans was complicated by the order of payments established by law that has not yet been abolished, providing for the repayment of loan debt last. The problematic situation with loans was aggravated by risks that increased due to the shutdown of most of the country's production and the low financial discipline of the remaining borrowers. Industry and agriculture were mostly unprofitable, and therefore were unable to repay the loans received.

These circumstances were of a macroeconomic nature; banks were not able to influence them directly. A large volume of loans provided to various sectors of the economy and not repaid on time reduced the stability of the banking system. Overdue debt in 1998 had a steady growth trend: at the beginning of the year it amounted to 4.7% of the total volume of issued loans, in August - 5.7%, and at the end of the year - already 10.1%. The increase in “bad” debts was both a prerequisite for the crisis in the banking system and a symptom of it.

The bankruptcy of many credit institutions was provoked by the so-called problem of uncontrolled growth, i.e. the desire to expand the range of operations carried out without taking into account actually available resources and in the absence of appropriate control over their implementation. This problem manifested itself in the unreasonable expansion of the branch network, when, due to the lack of effective management, many branches brought only losses. Expenses for the construction of expensive offices, maintenance of the management apparatus, social and cultural facilities and housing and communal services increased. At the same time, real income was often not taken into account, and expenses were actually carried out at the expense of clients.

Trying to expand their sphere of influence, many banks acquired ownership of industrial enterprises. The losses of these enterprises and the decline in stock prices created additional problems for banks. Initially, the growing costs of banks were covered by high margins, which were determined by the level of inflation in the country. But after 1996 the situation changed. The slowdown in inflation led to a reduction in financial market rates and, consequently, bank margins. Many banks failed to adapt their operations to the new conditions, and their costs continued to be significant.

Low level of management. The low level of management played a destructive role in the development of events. The ineffectiveness of the management system is reflected in the neglect of the banking strategy and a predominant focus on short-term results, low qualifications of managers and personnel, insufficient knowledge of market conditions, and most importantly, the prospects for its development. A number of negative factors, such as swelling of the management apparatus, an increase in the number of meetings and multiple agreements on making day-to-day decisions, and others, led to the fact that the bank’s management system ceased to adequately respond to incoming objective information and made incorrect decisions.

The most striking example is the participation of almost all banks (but to varying degrees) in the GKO-OFZ pyramid. At the same time, two investment rules were violated, which apply to any case of placing funds: do not exceed the maximum risk per borrower, even if this borrower is the state, and remember the direct relationship between interest rates and the risk of investing funds. GKOs and OFZs were among the riskiest securities because the state promised high interest rates on them with a budget deficit and minimal tax revenues, even though the risk coefficient established by the Bank of Russia for this group of assets was zero.

Banking analysts were unable to adequately assess the situation with inflated returns on market financial instruments, in particular government securities, which led to the loss of a significant part of assets that were considered highly liquid with a low risk factor. An extreme manifestation of the dysfunction of the management system was the numerous failures of banks to comply with current legislation, banking supervision requirements and the massive revocation of licenses from insolvent banks.

It should be noted that external conditions, characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and risk, had a negative impact on the quality of management. The associated increase in the number of factors requiring consideration when making management decisions, as well as rapidly changing circumstances, reduced the likelihood of obtaining the required result. The low effectiveness of management influences is largely explained by the inability to determine with a sufficient degree of certainty the consequences of the steps taken in the current situation.

Thus, problems at the level of specific banks were mainly associated with the lack of a management system that corresponded to the constantly growing volume of transactions and the number of branches. In addition, the predominance of personal interests of various groups taking part in the management of the bank led in many cases to a violation of its economic interests as a whole, including its clients. Often, bank managers realized their goals without coordination with the overall development strategy of banks. The heads of some large, politically active banks have used available resources to solve ideological problems that are not directly related to banking.

The low level of responsibility of bank management was largely determined by the lack of an effective mechanism for delineating rights and responsibilities between bank management and their shareholders. Large shareholders, who were also clients of banks and members of their financial and industrial groups, had a significant influence on management decisions. As a result, the banks' policy was aimed at realizing the interests of these shareholders without taking into account the interests of other depositors, creditors, and clients.

It should be noted that the identified shortcomings should not be extended to the activities of all banks without exception. During the crisis, some credit institutions continued to perform basic banking functions without losing their solvency and liquidity. Thanks to their work, it was possible to save the banking system from complete destruction during that difficult period. But there were also causes of the crisis that were associated with the problems of specific credit institutions and did not manifest themselves in the activities of others, that is, they did not acquire a systemic character.

Analyzing the difficulties encountered by commercial banks with liquidity, solvency and others, we can conclude that these problems were associated not only with the outbreak of the crisis. Even before August 1998, the bankruptcy of credit institutions had become widespread, and by this time about 700 banking licenses had been revoked. The emergence of problems is primarily due to the operating conditions of Russian banks: the presence of various risks, their high magnitude, the lack of adequate, and in many cases, any insurance systems, unstable and high variability of processes occurring in the economy and the banking system. In addition, this is due to the extent to which management in the bank (primarily liquidity) corresponds to the actual conditions of its activity and how quickly and adequately it can change if these conditions change. Thus, the crisis of the Russian banking system reflected the accumulated shortcomings in the activities of banks, banking legislation, government policy, and banking supervision. The situation that developed after August 1998 was not accidental; it turned out to be just a manifestation and inevitable result of the negative phenomena of the country's economic development. Fundamental factors such as high inflation, state budget deficit, decline in production, growth in the number of unprofitable enterprises, devaluation of the ruble, investment crisis, distrust in ongoing reforms, largely determined the state of the banking system. Therefore, to normalize its activities, along with solving internal problems, it is necessary to improve the macroeconomic situation as a whole.

Restructuring of the banking sector. The implementation of banking restructuring is determined by the strategy adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for transforming the banking industry in conjunction with the structural restructuring of the country's economy, which makes it possible to implement the principle of consistency in solving major national economic problems. The implementation of this methodological approach is based on considering the banking sector as a system operating in a certain socio-economic environment and interacting with other systems.

Recently, the concept of “restructuring” has been widely used to refer to various social, economic and political processes. The terms “restructuring”, “economic restructuring”, “debt restructuring”, and later “industrial restructuring” began to be used by economists in the early 1990s.

Restructuring tasks. Banking restructuring is an evolutionary process based on the concept of entrepreneurship, adapted to the national characteristics of the country, and differentiated by the levels of reforms being implemented. The main objectives of banking restructuring at the present stage are:

1. increasing the level of capitalization of credit institutions;
2. determination of the quantitative and qualitative structure of the banking industry;
3. achieving compliance of the reformed banking system with the federal structure of our country;
4. encouraging responsible behavior of credit institutions in the financial services market;
5. overcoming the administrative orientation of reforms;
6. demonopolization of the banking services market and stimulation of competition;
7. introduction of advanced technologies for conducting banking business and issuing new financial instruments.

The documents adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia on reforming the monetary sector deal mainly with systemic changes, including the creation of favorable conditions for the functioning of credit institutions, expanding freedom of commercial activity in the banking sector, modernizing the taxation system, and resolving legal and other issues. Particular attention is paid to macroeconomic indicators, while the tasks of commercial banks are considered through the targets of the system as a whole.

Multi-level restructuring concept. When forming system-wide regulations, it is necessary to concentrate attention on the micro level, i.e. at the level of an individual commercial bank. The organization of the process should be based on identifying priority areas for improving the functioning of regional and primary links of the system, as well as delimiting the main tasks by management levels. Only by uniting the aspirations of all parts of the banking system to improve their activities is it possible to achieve a positive result as a whole. In this regard, it seems timely and appropriate to develop a multi-level concept of banking restructuring, in which the targets for the transformation of credit institutions within a unified system should be identified, disclosed and brought to a specific program of action based on the identification of potential and existing problems using priority-process structuring. To do this, it is necessary to identify the main processes, i.e. those that determine the life of the banking industry, identify horizontal and vertical connections that mediate the implementation of these processes, and also combine into a single whole all stages of the production and sale of banking products and services for selected items.

This approach contributes to the systematization of guidelines and methods of banking restructuring.

The basis for developing the concept of banking restructuring is a strategic approach to its implementation. The formation of an effective development strategy that defines the program both for the medium term and for the long term, taking into account general economic and regional characteristics, is a condition for optimizing reforms and an integral part of the concept of transforming commercial banks. Strategic changes should contribute to the evolution of a commercial bank and its progressive development. Therefore, the use of a creative entrepreneurial approach that promotes the positive functioning of the bank becomes a necessary condition for the implementation of the strategy.

The conceptual basis of banking restructuring in the unity of the diversity of forms of its implementation can be presented in the form of a diagram (see figure).

Bank restructuring is carried out at several levels, which include:

• systemic;
• Bank of Russia as a regulatory and supervisory body;
• credit institutions (intra-bank).

It should be noted that there is a close relationship between the levels of restructuring. Changes occurring in one bank ultimately affect the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the banking system as a whole. And, conversely, the transformation of the banking system cannot but affect the activities of specific credit institutions. “Is it necessary to restructure individual credit institutions? Absolutely yes! Is it possible, by restructuring only individual credit institutions and without having a general vision of the system of credit institutions that should emerge at the end of the restructuring process, to achieve restoration of the ability of the credit institution system to fully ensure the performance of its basic functions? Certainly not” (20, p. 143). In addition, the system-wide approach dictates the need to continuously clarify the guidelines for the activities of the Bank of Russia in order to comply with the requirements it imposes on commercial banks with the constantly changing external environment.

Stages of restructuring. Banking restructuring is historical in nature. It represents a single permanent process, within which three stages are distinguished: anti-crisis, stabilization, innovation (see figure).

These stages are repeated cyclically in the spiral of social development. Transformation or cessation of social relations lead to a change in stages of restructuring, which have a certain time limit. The heterogeneity of the stages of restructuring is determined by such factors as the reasons for the transformations, their goals, the role of management in this process, the interests of various groups of participants, etc. It does not require proof that the purpose of banking restructuring determines the direction of its implementation.

A feature of anti-crisis restructuring can be called a clear formalization of goals. The bank's management is focused on overcoming negative phenomena and achieving a certain level of specified indicators. The purpose of stabilization restructuring is to preserve the banking business within the framework of the achieved results and prevent a possible rollback [In the future, we will consider stabilization restructuring within the framework of the anti-crisis stage.]. Innovative restructuring is aimed at improving the banking business. It is closely related to the entrepreneurial approach, in which case banking should be considered as a scheme that needs to be improved and changed in each case when there is a suitable opportunity for this (1, p. 196). Therefore, the goal of the innovation stage is subject to permanent clarification in accordance with the developing external situation and internal banking needs, but in any case, one must proceed from an orientation towards the long-term sustainable development of the banking business.

From the point of view of initiating the process, restructuring can be divided into voluntary, activated by the credit institution itself, and mandatory, carried out by decision of the Bank of Russia. Anti-crisis restructuring can be either mandatory or initiated by the bank’s management, while innovative restructuring is voluntary.

The differences between the stages of restructuring highlight the role of management in their implementation. It is obvious that management is of decisive importance for each of the stages.

Managing a commercial bank at the anti-crisis stage helps achieve a specific result in a certain period of time. The innovation stage involves the use of strategic approaches, focusing on a process that in the current period may even be unprofitable, but will bring success in the long term. At the same time, previously unused developments and technologies are tested as sources of competitive advantage, new contacts are established, which may not always turn out to be successful discoveries. However, when recovering from a crisis situation, the bank’s management cannot afford to take on the risks of innovation, since unsurmounted negative phenomena have already created a high level of risk, so the range of sources of competitive advantages is significantly limited [This does not apply to the situation of the intersection of the innovation and anti-crisis stages.]. But in any case, regardless of the stage of restructuring, a conservative attitude towards risks must be maintained.

Management is always carried out in someone else's interests. The stage of overcoming crisis phenomena, as a rule, is associated with a change of owners, the instability of their positions, as well as the infringement of their rights. Therefore, when making management decisions, the interests of managers often prevail. The transition to the innovation stage is characterized primarily by the delimitation of the rights of shareholders (participants) of the bank and managers, which occurs due to the achievement of compliance of established legislative norms with the actual practice of their application. This ensures an increase in intra-bank trust and bank control. It should be noted that trust is the basis of the banking business. The certainty of internal relationships when the bank's management conscientiously fulfills its duties contributes to an increase in the degree of transparency of its activities, which has a beneficial effect on expanding the client base and allows maintaining long-term stable relationships with depositors, creditors and other counterparties.

During the transition from one stage to another, restructuring, as a rule, is spontaneous in nature, but then it acquires a fixed legal framework.

Forms of restructuring. Restructuring has various forms of manifestation.

It can be carried out while maintaining the organizational and spatial boundaries of the banking business. In some cases, it becomes necessary to change these boundaries. The varieties of these forms can be combined into two groups, which include:

• firstly, transformations within the framework of already existing organizational and spatial boundaries;
• secondly, changes leading to the formation of new organizational structures.

The forms of restructuring of the first group determine the organic growth of banks, which occurs on the basis of a gradual expansion of the banking business at the expense of their own resources accumulated in the course of their activities. These forms include: 1) diversification and internationalization of the banking business, contributing to the expansion of the banking portfolio; 2) specialization associated with the concentration of efforts on certain types of activities.

Diversification, in turn, can be carried out in three directions: a) development of new types of banking activities and product range, which allows maintaining competitive advantages in traditional banking markets; b) application of conventional banking services in new areas and to meet new needs; c) moving to an area not related to the current business.

A type of diversification is internationalization, a distinctive feature of which can be called a change in the geographical environment of the banking business. Internationalization is riskier, more expensive and represents a radical departure from past experience (1, p. 194). The incentive to enter new geographic markets is their potential capacity, which makes it possible to obtain high profits under favorable macroeconomic conditions. Despite the fact that new working conditions require some time to adapt and implement modern technologies and working methods, income growth is possible almost immediately by increasing the deposit base and reducing the cost of raising loans in the interbank market.

When a bank specializes in one or several areas, increased profitability is achieved through increased investment in specific types of activities, which leads to the achievement of undoubted leadership in a certain area.

The second group of forms of restructuring is united by the need to choose a method for transforming banking activities, when the following question arises: should we rely only on internal sources, developing internal bank potential, or should we take the path of creating new organizational structures and using their resources? There are several possibilities for the formation of such structures: a) dividing the bank into independent parts or separating individual units from its composition; b) merger with other banks or their acquisition, leading to the establishment of full control; c) merger with other banks; d) formation of consolidated groups or other associations with enterprises of the non-financial sector.

As a rule, the final consolidation of new structures is preceded by the creation of strategic alliances, within the framework of which the bank acquires a non-controlling stake in other banks or companies, and there may also be an exchange of shares between them.

When banks participate in other companies by transferring part of the shares as their market capitalization grows, the costs associated with penetrating a new business are reduced. At the same time, when using your own shares to finance such projects, there is a danger of being taken over by these companies.

The reorganization of banking structures can also be considered at the horizontal and vertical levels. In the first case, a so-called coordinated merger occurs, when the partners operate in the same segments of the financial market with the same composition of clients. The main objective of such a merger is to reduce costs. In the second case, the association is based on the mutual complementation of partners with “processes, systems, structures” in order to develop new products, expand markets and attract new customers.

When horizontally merging financial institutions, the complementarity of the partners’ business areas plays a significant role. An example is the desire of foreign banks to expand their activities through participation in the investment and insurance business, which is explained by the attractiveness of these markets, which allow them to increase sales volumes and generate additional income.

Another direction of unification - vertical integration of banking structures - is associated with the merger of commercial banks, savings banks, credit partnerships, and mortgage banks. This process has not only become widespread in individual countries (Germany, Austria), but also goes beyond national borders; in particular, it has covered the entire financial sector of the Scandinavian countries. For example, in Sweden in the early 1990s. on the basis of 11 merged savings banks, Swedbank was formed, which became one of the largest universal banks; in Denmark, in 1998, Kapital Holding was formed based on the merger of the third largest bank in terms of assets, Baykuben Girobank ( Bikuben Girobank) with the second largest mortgage bank Real-kredit Danmark. Under the influence of global trends leading to increased competition and the need to search for new sources of development, the scale and number of transactions to merge banks, as well as the latter with other structures, continue to increase.

Expanding organizational and spatial boundaries has a number of advantages.

First of all, it becomes possible to use the resources of other economic entities, their specific developments and technologies, and marketing research.

The number of transactions concluded is increasing due to cross-selling and the use of common distribution channels for financial products. Employees of the merging companies begin to distribute banking services, offering bank cards, deposits and other forms in a single package with their standard products. The merger makes it possible to consolidate efforts to improve the quality of services provided, and small banks have access to investment resources necessary for this, but previously unavailable. A positive reputation of a partner is essential for doing business and strengthening the customer base. It is also necessary to note a temporary advantage that allows the bank to accelerate its penetration into a new industry and its entry into new markets. All of these factors reduce the risks of developing a non-traditional field of activity that could arise if the bank started working in this area from scratch.

New information technologies have a beneficial effect on the growth of mergers or acquisitions in the banking sector, creating a single information space and helping to overcome misunderstandings between merging banks. In addition, an important component of success when expanding organizational and spatial boundaries is the presence of business development potential, supported by any form of organic growth, since the risk of failure with new acquisitions increases sharply in cases where one’s own business does not develop on its own (10, p. 111).

The answer to the question about the correct choice of direction and form of restructuring depends on the degree of validity of its implementation, for which it is necessary to assess in advance all possible consequences and foresee the emergence of problems in the future. But it becomes obvious only in the process of implementing reforms.

The classification of types of restructuring can be presented in the form of a table.

A feature of the development of banking in modern Russia is high rates of organic growth. This is facilitated by the fact that commercial banks were initially created as universal banks and operate in various segments of the financial market. In accordance with the Law “On Banks and Banking Activities,” commercial banks can carry out a wide range of transactions with securities, provide consulting services to corporate clients, etc. Insurance support for the banking business is provided, as a rule, through established subsidiaries.

The development of new areas of activity (for example, non-state pension provision) is carried out by Russian banks through the use of internal resources, and new structures are created within each bank or as subsidiaries (dependent) companies, while business technologies are developed in-house.

It is known that development using one’s own resources is proof of competitiveness and outstripping market growth rates. But in Russian reality, the mobilization of internal capabilities is also connected with the fact that in the domestic market there are no financial structures that may be of interest to commercial banks (based on the experience of past years, many insurance, investment and other companies turned out to be financial pyramids). Working with foreign partners involves the danger of being absorbed by them, and foreign companies themselves are wary of the domestic market. Therefore, banks do everything possible to independently service all financial flows of clients.

Attempts to diversify its activities, relying only on internal capabilities, by investing significant funds were also made in the 1990s. some European financial institutions. The reason for this was that the acquisition price was too high or problems with choosing a merger partner. Some of them managed to achieve success, such as the German Commerzbank, which is expanding its investment activities in Germany and abroad. For most banks, the use of the merger mechanism turned out to be more effective, the cumulative amount of which in 1997 alone amounted to $600 billion. and has a constant growth trend.

The Development Strategy of the Russian Banking System focuses on the importance of wider use of mergers and acquisitions mechanisms. One of the reasons for this is the need to increase banks' capital in accordance with the requirements of international standards. This form of reorganization of credit institutions is provided for by current legislation, as well as regulatory documents of the Bank of Russia. According to statistical data, there were no mergers of banks in our country before 1998, and today they are practically absent.

After the development by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation at the end of 1997 of regulatory documents defining the procedure for the reorganization of banks in the form of mergers and acquisitions and establishing a number of benefits for merging banks (no requirements for the minimum amount of authorized capital as for a newly created bank, etc.), some large banks announced a merger, for example, Bank of Moscow and Mosbusinessbank, but the outbreak of the crisis stopped this process.

As a rule, when carrying out reorganization, the merger procedure is more often used. This is explained by the more complex implementation of mergers, the main problem of which is to ensure the continuity of the activities of credit institutions and the procedure for interaction between supervisory authorities during the period of reviewing documents and making a decision on issuing a new license. The question of assessing the value of banks during the reorganization process also remains unresolved.

From the point of view of using the potential of other companies in Russian banking practice, the most widespread are financial and industrial groups created by banks with corporate clients operating in the non-financial sector and having stable cash flows. The driving force behind the acquisition of enterprises in the real sector of the economy was the need of commercial banks for cheap credit resources. Therefore, some experts believe that at the present stage for the Russian economy, the reverse process of diversification is much more relevant - the formation of a normal institution of financial intermediation, i.e., the creation of conditions that encourage banks to concentrate on credit and deposit operations (14, p. 33) .

Summarizing the current issues of restructuring the banking system outlined above, we can draw the following conclusions. Russian commercial banks have a high capacity for organic growth, which determines the features of their restructuring. The main task of the current stage of development of commercial banks in our country is not the diversification of services, but the concentration of efforts on improving the quality of banking operations itself, in particular lending to enterprises and organizations. The forms of restructuring of domestic banks do not correspond to the forms of restructuring of foreign banks, therefore it is impossible to blindly copy foreign experience, and when fulfilling the requirements of international organizations to build the Russian banking system, it is advisable to proceed from the national characteristics and interests of our country.

Thus, to determine the conceptual boundaries of banking restructuring, the most significant are the following aspects:

• respect for national priorities when determining restructuring goals;
• maintaining a balance between the financial and non-financial sectors of the economy;
• cross-level coordination of goals and objectives of banking restructuring;
• application of the principles of legal permissibility, economic feasibility and social utility.