XIIIth International Banking Congress JUNE 2-5, 2004 "Russia's Banking System in the Context with International Trends and Standards" PROGRAMME
Day 1, Wednesday, June 2, 2004
9.00 a.m. - 8.00 p.m.	Arrival, registration and accommodation of Congress participants at Pribaltiyskaya Hotel
9.00 a.m. - 11.00 a.m.	Breakfast
11.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.	Saint-Petersburg sightseeing trip
1.00 p.m. - 2.30 p.m.	Lunch
2.30 p.m. - 3.00 p.m.	Press conference
3.00 p.m. - 9.00 p.m.	Excursion to Tsarskoe Selo (Yekaterininsky Palace, Amber Room)
9.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.	Dinner
Day 2, Thursday, June 3, 2004
8.00 a.m. - 9.00 a.m.	Breakfast
9.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.	Plenary session
PLENARY SESSION (Leningrad Hall, Pribaltiyskaya Hotel)
9.00 a.m. - 9.30 a.m.	Official opening of Congress Welcome addresses by: Presidential Envoy in North-West Federal District, Governors of Saint-Petersburg Governors of Leningrad Region
9.30 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.	Speech by the Chairman of the Central Bank of Russian Federation
10.00 a.m.- 6.00 p.m.	Speeches by the representatives of Russian and foreign banks, international financial institutions, bank unions and associations, auditors and investment companies on the following issues: International trends of banking business development and their influence on economy. Specifics of Russian banking system upgrading in the context of the world experience. Mergers and acquisitions in banking sphere as a factor for capitalization of credit institutions. Improvement of bank liquidity management: domestic and world experience. Trans-border banking services under increasing international competition. Russian banks in the international banking community. Trends of international financial architecture. International standards of banking sector management, specifics of their application in Russian conditions. Prospects of retail credit development. Problems of mortgage crediting in Russia Implementation of World Bank credit projects in Russia: results and prospects. Role of Russian banking sector in sustainable economic growth. Profitability of the banking sector capital. Prospects of external convertibility of the Russian rouble. Strengthening of national currency and its influence on the national economy development: world experience, Russian prospects. Integration of Russian economy into world economic system. Specifics of transition of Russian financial accounting to the IAS. Bank personnel training under the introduction of the IAS. Trends of Internet technologies in Russian banking sector. Russia's accession to WTO: possible scenarios and their consequences for banking system. Aspects of competition on the Russian (domestic) banking services market. Bank holding: establishment and management development.
12.00 p.m. - 12.30 p.m.	Coffee-break
2.00 p.m. - 3.30 p.m.	Lunch
7.30 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.	Performance at the Musorgsky Opera and Ballet Theatre
10.00 p.m. - 11.30 p.m.	Dinner
11.30 p.m. - 02.00 a.m.	A boat trip: panorama of night city and the Neva river bridges drawn apart
Day 3, Friday, June 4, 2004
8.00 a.m.	Breakfast
9.00 a.m. - 2.30 p.m.	Workshops
11.30 a.m. - 12.00 p.m.	Coffee-break
Workshop sessions:
Workshop 1. Banking risks and their management. The following issues are to be discussed in detail: Risk management in credit institutions - international experience and its application in Russian banking system. Topical issues of banking regulation - Basle II. New technologies of cash handling in 21st century banks: trends, international experience, prospects. Establishment of the national credit history system as a factor of bank risk reduction. Modern methods of bank liquidity risk assessment. Role of supervisory bodies in bank risk regulation: international approaches and their applications in Russia. Information technologies: aspects of bank risks and protection systems (world and Russian experience). Banking secrecy and banking business transparency: conflicts of interests and searches for solutions. Interaction of bank supervisory bodies under increased international transactions of Russian commercial banks. Role of credit institutions in counteracting the legalization of fraudulent gains. Capital quality assessment. Problems of bank capital formation by means of improper assets and supervisory response measures. Bank risk assessment during technical inspections by the Bank of Russia. The initial experience of advisers' "institutions". External audit of credit institutions in compliance with the international requirements and standards. Transparency of information on credit institutions and their activities as an element of risk management system. Credit institutions approaches to risk minimization when rendering banking services to affiliated persons. Specifics of risk management in multibranch banks. Practice and risks of syndicated crediting. Assessment of risks on consolidated basis as the major elements of management system. Banks in the securities market: experience, prospects, risk assessment. Workshop 2. Establishment of Deposit insurance system. The following issues are to be discussed in detail: International experience of deposit insurance. Deposit insurance system as a factor of higher trust in banking system. Retail deposit insurance system in Russia: legislative support and prospects. Infrastructure for deposit insurance system: state of the art, problems and prospects. Criteria for entry of credit institutions into the deposit insurance system. Compliance of banks with the criteria for entry into the deposit insurance system: inspection methodology and procedures. Retail fixed deposits in the context of deposit insurance system establishment. Regional funds for deposit safety: experience and prospects. Participation of bank associations and unions in retail deposit insurance systems. Workshop 3. Transition to IAS. The following issues are to be discussed in detail: Topical aspects of transition to the IAS for banks and real sector enterprises. The IAS as a factor for upgrading the requirements to transparency of private property structure, management system and internal control in credit institutions. Transition of Russia's credit institutions to the IAS - problems and prospects. Methodological and methodical aspects of Russia's banking system transition to the IAS. Legal support of transition to the IAS (information disclosure, responsibility for banking secrecy disclosure). Banking audit under the conditions of transition of credit institutions to the IAS. The IAS and the national accounting systems. Bank personnel retraining in accordance with the IAS requirements. Assessment of banks assets under the IAS regulation. International experience and responsibility of auditors for the quality of their conclusions: legislation and its applications. The IAS Council and its coordinating role in transition to the IAS. Alternative sources of banking information in domestic and foreign practice. Upgrading of requirements to the property structure transparency of credit institutions in transition to the IAS. Workshop 4. Transborder banking services, international competition and currency liberalization. The following issues are to be discussed in detail: Activities of foreign banks in Russia - trends and prospects. Basle recommendations for the capital agreement - their influence on competitiveness of banking services. Problems of liberalization of trans-border operations of foreign companies and banks in Russia - trends, dynamics and prospects. Influence of foreign bank loans in Russian credit market. Problems of the Russian banking system integration into the world financial space. Liberalization of capital movement and its influence on economic situation. Prospects of opening foreign bank branches in Russia: pro and contra. Currency liberalization in Russia in the light of the new edition of the law "On currency regulation and currency control". Problem of strategic interests of countries in the development of transborder banking and financial activities. Problems of obtaining the Russian banking system competitiveness at the liberalization of trans-border banking services. Banking supervision and expansion of foreign transactions of Russian banks. Role of banks in counteracting the terrorism funding and legalization of fraudulent gains. World experience in trans-border banking transactions. Workshop 5. Corporate governance and internal control in banks. The following issues are to be discussed in detail: Globalization of financial markets and adequate improvement of the banking sector management. Strengthening of the corporate governance in banks - international experience and prospects of its application in the Russian banking system. Legal basics of corporate governance in Russian credit institutions. Corporate governance of credit institutions as an important factor for bank risk reduction. Internal control in banks - problems of its higher quality, effectiveness and responsibility. Problems of interaction of external audit with internal control services in banks. International experience and principles of bank internal control. International experience in upgrading the responsibility of the owners and the managers of credit institutions. Prospects of its application Russia. Transparency of banking activities and the corporate governance quality. Counteracting the risks of unscurpulous insider actions and methods of their elimination on the basis of international experience. Governance and internal control in bank holding. Authorities of supervisory bodies at specifying the requirements and assessing the corporate governance in credit institutions. Interaction of banking supervision with internal control and external audit: efficiency problems. Control functions of the Board of Directors in a credit institution. Role of the Board in ensuring the adequacy of internal control to the risk level in a credit institution. Auditing commissions in the process of corporate governance in credit institutions: role and tasks. Establishment and efficiency of corporate culture in credit institutions.                   * Time limit for each workshop presentation - not over 10 minutes.
2.00 p.m. - 3.00 p.m.	Lunch
3.00 p.m. - 4.00 p.m.	Closing plenary session, adoption of the final document
4.30 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.	Press conference
8.00 p.m.	Bankers' Ball
Day 4, Saturday, June 5, 2004
8.00 a.m. - 10.00 a.m.	Breakfast
Departure of Congress participants