KPMG, Sberbank Agree on Counterpart Financing at Kazan Summit 2017

Baku, Fineko/ABC.az. The “Counterpart Financing: #NewReality” business breakfast, co-hosted by Sberbank and KPMG, was conducted on May 19 in Kazan. The meeting served as a part of the ongoing “Russia-Islamic World: KazanSummit 2017” conference.

Moderating the event were Vugar Aliyev, the Head of Financial Services at KPMG in Russia and the CIS and the Managing Partner of KPMG in Azerbaijan, and Behnam Gurbanzada, Counsellor to the Deputy Chairman of the Board at PJSC Sberbank. The focus of the business breakfast was a broad conversation surrounding the future and growth factors of counterpart financing in Russia and CIS countries.

Prominent leaders like Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Marat Kabaev, the President of the International Association of Islamic Business, and Oleg Ganeev, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank, were among the speakers at the session. Others included Khalid Al Janahi, Senior Advisor of the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, Hamed Hasan Al Merah, General Director of Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), Alexey Simanovsky, Counsellor to the Chairman of the Bank of Russia, and Dmitry Saveliev, RF State Duma Deputy of the 6th and 7th convocations and First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Security and Counteracting Corruption of the State Duma.

The growth of interest in counterpart financing arises from ongoing geopolitical and financial instability, coupled with the crisis of trust towards financial institutions. Traditional banks in Russia and the CIS nations are particularly keen to explore counterpart financing as they seek long-term funding sources. Nonetheless, even with a well-defined client segment, this area cannot fully flourish without necessary legal provisions. To enable the effective implementation of counterpart financing, a shift in the banking sector and conducive conditions for development are mandatory. The business breakfast intended to deliberate on these changes and the potential course for this sector in Russia and CIS countries.

Throughout the event, speakers touched upon the gamut of issues surrounding this topic. This included the best practices for implementing counterpart financing, the current status of this field in Russia and Kazakhstan, activities of Sberbank’s working group, the establishment of the Tatarstan International Investment Company, counterpart financing of PPP projects, and other export promotion-related projects. Also discussed were legislative aspects of counterpart financing products. The event concluded with an open discussion on the future of counterpart financing in various business segments, followed by a Q&A session.

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