OREANDA-NEWS. On February 7, 2008, Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and members of the Government of the Russian Federation met with heads of fifteen banks, members of the board of the Association of Russian Banks.

Vice-Premier Alexei Kudrin, Chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Ignatyev, head of the Experts Directorate of the Executive Office of the President Arkady Dvorkovich, Head of the Federal Service for Financial Markets Vladimir Milovidov, Chairman of the Committee on Financial Markets of the State Duma Vladislav Reznik, and several representatives of ministries and government agencies also participated in the White House meeting. Chairman of the Management Board of Bank Electronika Vladimir Romanov was one of the fifteen heads of banks in the ARB delegation chaired by President of Sberbank German Gref.

Bankers and representatives of governmental structures met to discuss what actions the government might take if a liquidity crisis similar to that of the fall of 2007 should reoccur and to consider   what consequences the worldwide financial crisis might bring to the banking system in Russia. In the words of Viktor Zubkov, “notwithstanding the difficult situation in international financial markets, the banking system has demonstrated its stability and independence of external circumstances. ”The prime minister agreed, nonetheless, to discuss “securing stability for the long-term perspective”.