"Financial Code for Industrial Growth" Discussed at INNOPROM-2026
On July 7, 2026, a panel session titled "Financial Code for Industrial Growth" was held at the INNOPROM-2026 exhibition in Yekaterinburg, organized by NOVIKOV Bank. The session was moderated by Alexander Murychev, Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) and Chairman of the Board of the Financial and Business Association of Euro-Asian Cooperation (FBA EAC).
The FBA EAC delegation, represented by Anna Bezdudnaya, General Director and Editor-in-Chief of the FBA EAC Herald, and Sergey Korotkov, Advisor to the FBA EAC President, took part in the session. They also attended the event organized by the RUIE Committee on Industrial Policy and Technical Regulation titled "Technical Regulation in Defense of Industry Interests," which took place earlier the same day.
During the "Financial Code for Industrial Growth" panel session, presentations were delivered by: Anna Lavrentieva, Senior Vice President of NOVIKOV Bank; Valery Piven, Director of the Financial Institutions Rating Group at ACRA; Roman Petrutsa, Director of the Industrial Development Fund; Andrey Stepnov, General Director of Metrowagonmash; Victoria Kudryashova, Managing Director of the Digital Credit Process Division at Sber; Alexander Aksakov, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of DOM.RF Bank and Head of the Corporate and Investment Business Block; and Yulia Pavolotskaya, General Director of the Moscow Venture Fund.
Opening the session, Alexander Murychev assessed the current economic situation. According to him, the Russian economy is undergoing a deep structural transformation accompanied by stagnation risks: GDP growth is estimated at 0.4–0.7 percent, and fixed capital investment in the first quarter of 2026 fell by 14.3 percent, which he characterized as an "investment failure." Alexander Murychev stated that the key rate of 14.25 percent effectively blocks industrial modernization, as loans at 18–20 percent per annum make it impossible to launch long-term projects, upgrade equipment, and implement robotics. Murychev called for a more decisive rate cut, warning that maintaining double-digit rates in 2027 threatens the loss of entire industry opportunities. He also drew attention to the low unemployment rate, which today is not a sign of economic health, but rather a consequence of the social burden on city-forming enterprises forced to retain their workforce.
During the discussion, the session participants proposed a set of tools to improve the situation: expanding subsidized lending programs and increasing their volumes; launching special targeted loans for modernization, robotics, and technological upgrading; reducing the financial burden on investment projects through regulatory preferences and stimulating regulation; simplifying access to credit resources, including through digitalization and acceleration of credit processes; developing stock market instruments, including IPOs and venture financing for industrial projects; and expanding state support measures through development institutions.
Following the session, a package of proposals will be formed for the government and the Central Bank.