In February, several RTS shareholders, who together own a controlling stake in the exchange, signed an agreement to sell their shares to MICEX, thus deciding the fate of the oldest Russian exchange, which had recently ceased to exist as a separate legal entity. The process, which many brokers had already taken a hostile attitude to, was not without its difficulties. First, it turned out that some of the critical assets necessary for the exchange's operation remained on the balance sheet of NP RTS, which was not included in the transaction perimeter. As a result, its final signing, planned for April, had to be postponed. Then it turned out that some MICEX shareholders did not agree with such a large purchase. Nevertheless, the deal eventually took place, and now Russia's largest exchange is called MICEX-RTS, which, however, did not save it from a technical failure on the first day of trading, the consequences of which it is still dealing with.

In early spring, Vladimir Milovidov, who had held the post of head of the Federal Service for Financial Markets (FSFM) for four years, left his post. His place was taken by Deputy Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin, who in less than a year managed to cancel some of his predecessor's initiatives (including raising the equity ratio for most professional market participants), and, according to statistics, began to impose slightly fewer fines and, in general, earned the characterization of a more liberal head of the FSFM. In addition, he now has much more to worry about - this year, the FSFM was merged with the Federal Insurance Supervision Service. "There will be more work," warned then Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, introducing Pankin to the FSFM. It can be assumed that it was the merger that occupied most of the new head's attention this year, and how heavy the hand of the new regulator really is, participants in the stock and insurance markets have yet to find out.

There were also some high-profile acquisitions. At the beginning of the year, it became known that Sberbank was buying Troika Dialog for $1 billion immediately and an unspecified amount based on the results of its work in subsequent years. The main result of the deal, according to many investment bankers, was the further concentration of the market, in which only three major players remained - Sber-Troika, VTB Capital and Renaissance Capital. Moreover, the latter is increasingly developing towards other young markets - Africa and the Middle East. In general, the year turned out to be very difficult for professional participants, many of the largest investment banks ended up with significant losses, having lost out on trading and lost profits due to a decrease in client activity against the backdrop of market turbulence.

The construction of the MFC, actively promoted by President Dmitry Medvedev, was a topic discussed all year. Delegations of Western financiers came to Russia, and the president gave many instructions, some of which were carried out, while others had to be postponed. Nevertheless, the law on the central depository was still adopted, despite a series of continuous scandals and public quarrels - many participants in the accounting infrastructure market and some officials were strongly against the law in the form in which it was proposed, but in the end they managed to do almost nothing. Whether it was worth breaking spears and whether the presence of the Central Depository will help increase the liquidity of the modest Russian market, the very near future will show.

However, it is possible that soon there will be no one and nowhere to attract. This year has been very difficult for investors and market participants. Despite the rapid growth of indices at the beginning of the year, they fell even faster in August and September amid panic sales caused by the debt problems of the eurozone and uncertainty about the future of the US and Chinese economies. Having fallen, the markets have not yet been able to recover properly. The mood for next year is relatively positive, but whether it will be justified is a very big question.

Change of chairs and signs