Bank Employee Day in Russia Date in the current year: December 2, 2024

The history of Russia’s banking system dates back to the 18th century. The first lending organizations in Russia appeared during the reign of Anna Ioannovna. In 1754, Empress Elizabeth of Russia established the Nobles’ Loan Bank and the Merchants’ Loan Bank. These were the first banks in the Russian Empire. In 1768, Catherine II formed the State Assignation Bank, which was replaced by the State Commercial Bank. The State Commercial Bank, in its turn, was reorganized into the State Bank of the Russian Empire in 1860.

After the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Soviet Union, the State Bank of the Russian Empire was Replaced by the State Bank of the RSFSR, which was eventually transformed into the State Bank of the USSR (Gosbank). Around the same time, commercial banks began to emerge. Their main task was to provide short- and long-term loans to various sectors of economy.

Commercial banks were part of the so-called New Economic Policy (NEP). The Soviet government abandoned the NEP policy in 1928, and all commercial banks were liquidated. After the 1930 credit reform, the banking system of the USSR consisted of the State Bank, four specialized banks catering to particular sectors of economy, the Foreign Trade Bank (Vneshtorgbank), and savings banks. Three of the four specialized banks were liquidated in 1956.

During the perestroika, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union passed the Law on Cooperatives that permitted the establishment of commercial banks, which had been outlawed for almost six decades. The first commercial bank registered in Russia was Patent Bank (currently known as Viking Bank).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the current two-level banking system of Russia was formed. The upper level of the system is represented by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and the lower level consists of commercial banks. As of 2019, the top 10 commercial banks in Russia were Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, Russian Agricultural Bank, Credit Bank of Moscow, Otkritie FC Bank, UniCredit Bank Russia, Rosbank, and AO Raiffeisenbank.

The Association of Russian Banks (a non-governmental and non-profit organization representing the interests of Russian banking community) suggested that Bank Employee Day be celebrated on December 2, because on this day in 1990, two important laws regulating the banking sector in the Russian Federation were adopted: the Federal Law on the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia) and the Federal Law on Banks and Banking Operation. These two laws paved the way for the formation of the banking system of newly independent Russia.

In addition to the unofficial Bank Employee Day, people working in Russian banks celebrate other professional holidays. They include, for example, Financier’s Day (September 8), Economist Day (November 11), Sberbank Employee Day (November 12) and Accountant Day (November 21).