Opening remarks by Dmitry Medvedev:

Good afternoon, colleagues. We have gathered today in order to discuss once again the issue of establishing an International Financial Centre in Moscow, to discuss a draft road map for the creation of this centre and, accordingly, measures to improve the investment climate. Although you know this just as well as I do, I would like to remind you that the idea to establish an International Financial Centre was formulated during what was probably the most difficult period, that is, when an economic crisis was raging in Russia and all over the world. A number of measures were implemented in the past few years, after the pertinent idea was voiced. I believe that, on the whole, a lot has already been accomplished. The International Advisory Board for the    International Financial Centre continues started operating. The relevant legislation has been formulated. A number of important laws, bylaws and decisions of the Moscow authorities have been passed. That’s what the current situation is like. 

As for the road map, this is another stage in establishing a competitive financial system. The document sets forth some goals that are quite realistic. We need a modern and flexible regulatory environment that reflects the current situation. We need incentives for developing modern financial products. And, of course, we need a modern level of corporate governance that would ensure the protection of investors’ property rights and interests. These obvious issues have been discussed many times. The draft roadmap is based on clear feedback mechanisms with financial market investors, including indicators to show which products and services are most needed by clients, and which, on the contrary, are not much in demand.

One of the main objectives of the project is the development of the infrastructure of the financial markets and, of course, the development of the social and business infrastructure of the Moscow metropolitan area. We must continue to simplify entrance procedures for foreign nationals, particularly those specialists who come here from other countries in order to work in highly skilled areas. This of course includes all those people who come to lecture at universities, to take part in research projects, as well as those who are invited by scientific, cultural and medical organisations. Overall, we must move forward in all these directions and try to make life easier for foreign nationals in Moscow, by which I mean creating a comfortable environment for them. It would be good if an independent audit agency oversaw the implementation of the roadmap on an annual basis. Implementing the roadmap will not only make it possible to pass new laws and other legislation, but also create effective mechanisms, as well as qualitative and quantitative parameters and, of course, boost the position of Moscow and Russia in international rankings, both in terms of specific positions such as assessments of the level of access to credit, the level of corporate management, and of the financial system as a whole. But, at any rate, we hope that this roadmap will accelerate the development of the financial industry. Tools and banking products must meet modern requirements. Therefore, we need to start work on this roadmap, and we need to ensure the International Financial Centre in Moscow gets up and running. This is necessary both for the economy and for society, which needs jobs and new business opportunities. That’s all I have to say on the roadmap.

There is another issue I would like to touch upon in my opening remarks. It is not directly related to the International Financial Centre, but is of course directly related to Russia’s financial market. I am talking about improving the system of regulation and oversight. It is common knowledge that these processes are permanent, but in the European Union, the United States and some other countries these processes were stimulated by the crisis. I don’t think we’ve heard the final word on all this, but in any case we have also started implementing these decisions. Russia launched the first stage of the regulatory system reforms in 2011. Today, at least some analysts in the banking community and representatives of the federal authorities believe that the distribution of oversight powers between the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Service for Financial Markets (FSFR) and the Bank of Russia is not an optimal solution. Quite often, especially during the consolidation of companies and their merger into financial banking groups, such a scenario would make it impossible to give a complete picture of the financial market and correctly assess the risks that exist. I would like to stress once again that this opinion is shared by at least a section of the expert community, which believes that consolidated oversight is essential, and that such oversight should be conducted by a single agency. As you know, this entails the possible transfer of the relevant FSFR powers to the Bank of Russia. I would also like to examine this issue today because a decision on establishing this body can only be made after a complete assessment of all the pros and cons of this idea. The main thing, of course, is to improve the regulation of domestic financial markets and to strengthen institutions which are currently operating on the market, and, consequently, improve the overall situation in the country.

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