XXVI International Financial Congress opened in the Presidential Library

Today, July 13, 2017, the Presidential Library in St. Petersburg hosted an official opening of the XXVI International Financial Congress. The main theme of the largest annual international financial forum in Russia is "Finance for Development." Over 1200 participants got together to discuss the contribution of the financial system into the economic development of the country, as well as the measures that can be taken in this area.

"Now the Russian economy is at the beginning of its new cycle, it has returned to positive growth rates, yet low. This year we expect a growth of 1.3-1.8%. The agenda of stabilization and adaptation to external shocks, which dominated in recent years, was naturally replaced by a discussion on how to launch the engine of economic development," - Elvira Nabiullina, Chairwoman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, explained a choice of theme for current event. She also told about the central area of focus of the country's main bank under the new conditions: "Now that the situation has stabilized in the economy and the financial system, we have more opportunities to concentrate at the development issues. And we will give greater priority to the issues of competition, new technologies, financial accessibility, development of long-term money instruments and the capital market. What we can do together for the development of the financial sector and what the financial sector can do for the development of the economy is exactly what we will discuss at the congress."

The issues of economic and financial development, monetary policy, banking business, payment system, pension savings market, insurance, microfinance, financial technologies, financial accessibility and financial literacy became the topics of plenary and panel sessions and roundtables of the XXVI International Financial Congress. Assistant to the President of Russian Federation Igor Shchegolev, the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Oreshkin, the president, Chairman of the board of Sberbank of Russia German Gref, the president-chairman of the board of VTB Bank Andrey Kostin, other major heads of government bodies and the Central Bank attended the event. Representatives of Russian and foreign banks, insurance companies, pension funds and other participants of the financial market, as well as central banks of different countries and international financial institutions, are also invited for the discussions.

Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for the Financial Market, stressed out an importance of the financial forum: "During several months of work of the State Duma of the sixth convocation, several important laws were adopted, including those that were articulated at the last year's International Financial Congress. In particular, among them the law on the proportional regulation of banks and the law on the financial recovery of credit institutions."

The International Financial Congress is the largest annual international financial forum in Russia. The event is held for the second year in a row at the Presidential Library, which became possible owing to the support of the Administrative Department of the President of Russian Federation, technological, organizational and information readiness of the facility.