OREANDA-NEWS. On September 23, 2008 Russian and international capital market experts met at a conference in London to discuss ways of driving further forward the reforms of the Russian market in derivatives, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The conference, hosted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, focused primarily on ways to develop the market's regulatory and legislative framework. It was organised by the EBRD, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), as well as three Russian trade associations, (ARB-Association of Russian Banks, NFEA-National Foreign Exchange Association, NAUFOR-National Association of Securities Markets Participants.

The event, which took place after a period of turbulent fluctuations on world financial markets, featured speakers from Russia and the global markets in derivatives and included presentations and panel discussions on the status of the various projects being conducted in the legislative and regulatory areas in Russia. Industry experts attended from both inside and outside of Russia.

The EBRD's Vice President for Finance, Manfred Schepers, told the conference that the Russian derivatives market has made significant progress over the past years but further steps still needed to be taken. "We need to identify the obstacles that still stand in the way of moving even further forward and tackle them together," he said.

The EBRD, in cooperation with the Russian authorities, has put a strong emphasis on working to develop the Russian capital markets, helping to establish a transparent benchmark for Russian debt and paving the way for the issue of local currency bonds. The Bank launched its first 5-billion rouble bond in May 2005 and has since raised a total of RUB 27.5 billion in local rouble and Eurobonds.

The strategy of local currency lending has helped further increase the transparency and the efficiency of the domestic capital market.