Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev's opening remarks at the Government meeting.
From Dmitry Medvedev’s introductory remarks:
Government meeting
The main issue today concerns the guidelines on the Russian financial market’s development in the next three years.
This is the first comprehensive document of its kind, one that covers all aspects of the financial market development.
In 2013, we created a single regulator at the Bank of Russia that will monitor capital markets and also create conditions for the further development of not only banks but also stock exchanges, insurance companies, investment and trust management institutions and microfinancing organisations.
This sphere has shown a positive dynamic, using cutting-edge technology and more civilised methods. The range of saving, loan and insurance products is becoming more diversified. The levels of coverage, the quality of services and the standards of users’ financial literacy differ a great deal. Our task is to help people better understand these services. The public should have access to reliable information in order to take substantiated and reasonable decisions and to correctly gauge the level of acceptable risk, including currency fluctuations and other risks, as well as the possibility of legal consequences from their decisions.
Now that Western funding sources have been closed to our companies, it is crucial to offer them domestic sources and to encourage long-term loans. The market must offer our companies opportunities for financing capital investment projects and for creating and co-financing small and medium-sized businesses.
We will continue to improve the mechanisms of corporate governance of joint stock companies, protect the rights of minority shareholders and further develop debt and equity financing markets.
Government meeting
One of our goals is to improve market infrastructure, mostly by implementing information technologies. Of course, this also implies using modern methods for protecting information and ensuring cybersecurity.
Our efforts should be based on the best international practices and standards adjusted to Russian realities. In the banking sphere, we will continue to gradually introduce the requirements of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS).
We will continue to contribute to the efforts taken within the framework of G20, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. We will strengthen rapprochement with our partners under the Eurasian Economic Union. Taken together, this should make our capital markets more competitive and civilised and ultimately more attractive to both Russian and international investors.
