Completion of central banking training project in Russia

A two-year training project in the area of banking supervision in Russia, financed by the European Union, is coming to an end. The TACIS project “Central Bank Training III”, which started on 1 November 2003, was intended to help the Bank of Russia enhance its capacity in the field of banking supervision by transferring knowledge relating to sound practices employed by EU banking supervisors. The wider objective has been to foster the stability of the Russian banking system.

The project has been implemented by the ECB in partnership with nine national central banks of the Eurosystem (Deutsche Bundesbank (Germany), Banco de España (Spain), Banque de France (France), Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland (Ireland), Banca d’Italia (Italy), De Nederlandsche Bank (The Netherlands), Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austria), Banco de Portugal (Portugal) and Suomen Pankki / Finlands Bank (Finland)) and three European Union non-central bank supervisors (Rahoitustarkastus / Finansinspektionen (Finland), Finansinspektionen (Sweden) and Financial Services Authority (United Kingdom)).

The project was executed by European supervisors through 64 one-week training courses in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Tula given to 800 Bank of Russia’s banking supervisors. In addition, four seminars were held for Bank of Russia executives and a high-level external audience from the Russian political chambers and ministries, the banking associations and academia. Russian supervisors paid eight one-week study visits to various EU banking supervisors. An important part of the project is the publication of the book “Banking Supervision: European experience and Russian practice”, which will allow the dissemination of the know-how to other Russian experts.

On the occasion of the second annual joint Eurosystem – Bank of Russia seminar, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said: “We have been proud to share the European banking supervision experience openly with our Russian colleagues. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all staff involved in this project for their contributions and for demonstrating a true European spirit by acting as a united team”. Bank of Russia Chairman Sergey Ignatiev commented: “The successful implementation of such a large-scale project would not have been possible without the dedicated work of colleagues from the Delegation of the European Commission to Russia, the European Central Bank and its partners who were involved. All of them deserve our sincere and deep gratitude”.

During the press conference ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, Bank of Russia Chairman Sergey Ignatiev and the Head of the EC Delegation to Russia, Ambassador Marc Franco, signed the forewords of the mentioned book “Banking Supervision: European experience and Russian practice”. Ambassador Franco added: “It is a particular pleasure for me to associate the European Commission with the publication of the book on banking supervision – as a sign of the EU’s commitment to support an effective and independent supervision in accordance with the highest international standards and norms in the perspective of a Common Economic Space between the EU and Russia”.

The book will also be available in electronic format on the websites of the Bank of Russia and the ECB.