‘The soaring inflation rate is a grave factor on the financial services market. This factor does not create an advantage for some players at the expense of others but manages to modify the market as a whole. This is normally most noticeable when the entire branches (for instance, banks and the food industry) rather than mere banks compete with one another, trying to lure in more customers,’ says the Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s Strategic Development Director Andrei Emelyanov.

The executive reports inflation growth and any other market changes affect banks large enough to survive through the loss of some customers least of all. At the same time, these banks have to be small enough to remain manageable in case of a dramatic change of their status quo, which also makes them less susceptible to market fluctuations.

‘This is where a well-diversified client base and clever business management can be a bank’s trump cards,’ he notes.