Central Bank of Russia to begin phased implementation of regulations on banks' investments in ecosystems in Oct 2026
MOSCOW. Feb 24 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia will soon publish a revised concept for regulating banks' investments in ecosystems and non-core assets and plans to introduce a risk-sensitive limit (RSL) for such assets starting in October 2026, Director of the CBR's Banking Regulation and Analytics Department Alexander Danilov said in an interview with Interfax.
The CBR has repeatedly said that the uncontrolled development of ecosystems within banks could create risks for creditors and depositors and lead to an increase in the already high share of immobilized assets (those with no repayment requirements and limited liquidity). Currently, ecosystems are being developed by Sberbank , VTB , Alfa-Bank and T-Bank .
The CBR first announced plans to introduce the RSL in June 2021 in a consultation paper titled Regulation of Risks Related to Banks' Participation in Ecosystems and Investments in Immobilized Assets. In April 2022, it was revealed that the implementation had been put on hold due to sanctions. Since then, the volume of immobilized assets on bank balance sheets has grown nearly 1.6-fold to 4 trillion rubles, which is more than a quarter of the banking sector's capital.
The increase was primarily due to investments in non-core businesses, Danilov said. "These could be both ecosystem investments and investments in non-financial companies unrelated to the bank's core activities," he said.
The Central Bank initially planned to set the RSL for immobilized assets at 30% of a bank's capital. If a bank exceeded this limit, the excess amount would be deducted from regulatory capital when calculating standards. The CBR also proposed including not only banks' ecosystem investments but also previously accumulated assets on their balance sheets, such as fixed assets, real estate investments and assets received as settlements-in-kind.
The Central Bank has refined the regulatory concept and will publish it soon, Danilov said.
"We plan to keep the target limit at 30%. We will start with a 100% limit and gradually reduce it over five years to the target level. Compared to the original schedule, we are planning a smoother transition, which will soften the impact on capital in the first three years of the limit's implementation. This will give banks time to adapt - either by selling excess assets or ensuring capital coverage for assets they consider essential to their ecosystem development. After discussions this year, we will prepare regulatory changes so that they take effect in October 2026," he said.
"In refining the concept, we clarified the types of assets that may be classified as immobilized. For example, we included perpetual bonds. In essence, they are very similar to stocks, carry fundamentally similar risks, and should rightfully be categorized as immobilized assets," he said.
The CBR is also currently discussing whether to classify loans issued by banks to their non-financial subsidiaries for long terms, without clear repayment sources, as immobilized assets. For instance, this would apply if the subsidiary lacks sufficient cash flow.
"Such loans are essentially close to the definition of immobilized assets. Moreover, a bank has a strong incentive not to demand repayment if problems arise, in order to avoid losing the value of its investment. However, not every loan issued to a subsidiary qualifies as an immobilized asset. This is a complex issue, and we are currently working through it," Danilov said.
