Russia and Ukraine

Foreign investors eye record NPL stocks; judicial flaws hinder default resolution.

New technology and a handful of savvy operators have transformed banking for SMEs in Russia since the start of the decade. Now some of the sector’s biggest names are squaring up for the next challenge: affordable and accessible credit.

Three years ago, Raiffeisen Bank International was on the casualty list – today it is again one of the best-performing banks in Europe. New chief executive Johann Strobl discusses restructuring, regulation and getting back to ‘real banking’.

UK court freezes former shareholders’ assets; new CEO appointed by supervisory board.

A cost-cutting drive and a dearth of deal making at home have made for a turbulent few years at RenCap. But now the Russian economy is recovering, the investment bank is rediscovering its appetite for expansion – at home and abroad.

Concerns over rising protectionism reducing the trade in goods might be offset by the growing trend for trade in services.

Tinkoff Mobile targets middle class with premium service; Sberbank offers free package to cut telecoms bill.

For the banking industry, 2017 was a time of trying finally to resolve issues of the past and avoid new mistakes, yet dig beneath the surface and it was also 12 months of intrigue and, sometimes, farce. Here are Euromoney’s alternative awards for 2017.

What’s holding up a key appointment for the Ukrainian economy and banking system?

Primary issuance back to 2013 levels; private-sector names prove popular with investors

A pair of multibillion-dollar bank bailouts in under a month has roiled Russia’s banking sector and raised questions about the regulator’s competence – Dmitry Tulin, the central bank’s new head of banking supervision, insists such criticism is misguided.

Anyone trying to keep track of attitudes to cryptocurrencies among Russian policymakers could be forgiven for feeling a trifle dizzy going into December.