The Development Bank will provide medium- and long-term financing of investment projects in priority areas of Russia's economy, assist in drawing foreign investment, and provide financial support for export/import operations.
The new bank will be established by restructuring the state-controlled foreign economic bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) and will have a charter capital of at least 70 billion rubles (about $2.7 billion). The bank's capital will be formed with the assets of VEB and the federal stakes in the Russian Bank for Development and Roseximbank.
Under the new law, the Development Bank, which will retain the VEB name, will insure export loans from political and commercial risks under procedures established by the government, and will help Russian companies implement large-scale economic projects.
It will be controlled by the government through a supervisory board and will also be accountable to the Central Bank.
Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov said it was necessary to include members of the upper house and the State Duma, the lower house, in the bank's supervisory board. Instructions to draft the corresponding bill will be given to the Federation Council's financial markets and economic policy committees.
