CIS bankers held its T10 Banking Forum

On April 24, CIS bankers selected Buddha Bar Kiev to host their T10 Banking Forum. The event was attended by 128 people. The T10 Banking Forum is characterized by its unusual format - T10, which provides 10-minute presentations by 10 prominent bankers and thought leaders in the country.

The first session of the event was dedicated to discussing the Ukrainian banking sector outlook for 2015-2017. Steven Fisher, Chairman of the Board at Citibank summarized in his report the main challenges faced by Ukraine on the road to economic stabilization, as well as outlined the necessary reforms to be implemented in the economy and the banking system, particularly in terms of lending and attracting FDI.

Another fascinating presentation was delivered by Dmytro Krepak, CEO at Kredobank, on the development of the Polish banking system. Poland and Ukraine are similar in terms of population and the number of bank employees. At the same time, the number of commercial banks in both countries are 66 and 148 institutions respectively, and the capital of the largest Polish bank Pekao (more than 12b Euros) exceeds the total capital of the Ukrainian banking system. Krepak noted that in the 1990s the challenges for the banking sector in Poland were similar to today's challenges for the Ukrainian banking system, which is an argument for the possibility of using the Polish experience for crisis management in Ukraine.

Sergei Naumov, Chairman of the Board at Piraeus Bank delivered a presentation on the current state of the protection of the creditor rights. ASA Group director Oksana Doroshenko presented on practical examples of successful implementation of portfolio projects, the migration to full outsourcing of legal services, and examples of positive rulings for banks in difficult categories of disputes.

A lot of attention during the Forum was dedicated to the challenges faced by smaller banks in Ukraine, in particular during the presentations of former Agrokombank CEO Olga Bondarenko and the owner of the Bank National Credit, Andriy Onistrat. Onistrat highlighted the realities of the current situation in the banking system of Ukraine, recalling that in this current year 33 banks were liquidated, and more banks are now under temporary administration of the National Bank. He also made some predictions about the future of private and state-owned banks as to who would be likely to survive this crisis.

The first session of the Forum concluded with an expert panel which consisted of StevenFischer, Dmytro Krepak, Sergey Naumov and Olga Bondarenko,and was moderated by Andriy Onistrat.

The second session was dedicated profitable banking in today's challenging environment. Much of the speakers attention went to the introduction of innovative technologies and banking services, in particular by the Director of Retail Business at VTB Bank, Ms Elena Shostak, Director of Tieto Cards, Maris Ozolins, CEO of Mikhailovskiy Bank, Igor Doroshenko, Deputy Chairman of First Ukrainian International Bank, Sebastian Rubaj and Director of Treasury and MFS at Kyivstar, Taras Gorkunov. Chairman of the Board at PINbank, Oleg Malkin focused on the prospects of omnichannel banking development in Ukraine - an approach that is aimed at the consistent integration of all sales customer channels of the bank. Managing Partner of UAPAY, Dmitry Zarahovich, highlighted the realities of financial technology in the domestic market of payments.

During the round table with the participation of Elena Shostak, Oleg Malkin, Igor Doroshenko and Sebastian Rubaj, the speakers shared their views on the feasibility of introducing new banking products and forms of remote banking services in today's crisis. The panel was moderated by Rostyslav Dyuk, Deputy Chairman of the Board at Bank Vernum.

The Forum program also featured a master classe dedicated to Positive Leadership. Former Deputy Chairman of the Board at Platinum Bank, Andrzej Olejnik, shared his experience of personal leadership development for crisis management.

Founder of AE Leadership Morten Kriek conducted a master class dedicated to the creation of high-energy networks in departments and organizations to improve connections and drive positive results. This gave Forum participants a unique way of getting introduced to each other. In the process of learning how to implement a reciprocity process in their workplace, they also learned about each other and their personal and professional wishes.

It was a real pleasure to see the overall positive attitude of all participants and speakers against the backdrop of what is a very difficult situation for the country and the economy and of course the banking sector. Obviously the ongoing crisis still is a concern, but the significant number of prominent bankers and industry leaders that provided a positive outlook for the banking sector and the country was encouraging.

You can find photo and video reports as well as presentations from the Forum on the web-site www.cisbankers.com