ARTICLE

Russia debates systemic status for fast-growing marketplace banks

Certain subsidiaries of online marketplaces could be designated as systemically important banks within two to three years, according to Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, speaking at T-Bank's TOLK Forum.

Nabiullina noted that some marketplace-affiliated banks may qualify due to their rapid growth. "This would actually help level the competitive playing field, which is crucial—when these boundaries blur, we must not overlook the competitive aspect," she said.

Discussions on whether to classify marketplace banks as systemically important credit institutions have been ongoing since autumn 2025. On September 25, Andrei Kostin, head of VTB, proposed that the Central Bank designate the banking arms of major marketplaces as systemically significant. He argued that some of these financial institutions "already surpass VTB and Alfa-Bank in customer reach, trailing only Sberbank." Herman Gref, CEO of Sberbank, endorsed the idea, noting that systemically important banks face stringent regulatory oversight from the Central Bank.

Meanwhile, Georgiy Gorshkov, Chairman of the Board at Wildberries Bank, cautioned that recognizing marketplace banks as systemically important could lead to tighter regulation and slow the development of digital platforms.