News

The Ministry of Finance proposes to ease the requirements for foreign banks to establish branches in Russia and to broaden the operations those branches can perform. A relevant bill has been published on the portal for draft laws and regulations. 

Under the bill, the requirements will be relaxed as follows:

• the minimum guarantee deposit with the Bank of Russia will be reduced to RUB 90 million (from the current RUB 1 billion);
• the maximum quota of non-resident employees will be increased to 75% (currently 50% of total employees);
• requirements on how long the foreign bank has been in operation under the laws of its own country will be reduced to "at least two years" (instead of "at least three years").

In addition, the operations that a branch can perform will be expanded:

• restrictions on banking operations with individuals will be dropped (individuals will be able to perform all operations that can currently be performed by legal entities);
• individuals and legal entities will be able to open and maintain accounts in precious metals and perform transactions involving precious metals;
• branches will gain the right to engage in dealer activities.

The Finance Ministry believes these amendments "will help attract foreign banks from friendly countries to Russia's financial market to set the scene for the international payments system to develop."

A law allowing foreign banks to open branches in Russia came into effect in 2024, although no foreign bank has opened any so far. Prior to that, foreign banks could have either subsidiaries or representative offices in Russia. However, since 1 January 2026 foreign banks have been allowed to open two branches — one anywhere in the country and another in an advanced development territory (ADT).