Training and Personnel

As an institution-building project, the RSBF considers training of Russian staff to be one of its most crucial tasks. Thus, the transfer of know-how to local credit staff and the adaptation of the lending technology to the Russian environment, while continually seeking to improve it, are the key elements in our approach to reach the highest possible professional competency in the field of lending to MSEs. Such technical professionalism, combined with the extraordinary commitment of our credit staff, precondition the successful implementation and expansion of the Programme and its sustainable operations.

Over the past few years, the RSBF has carried out more than 250 specialised training courses for loan officers, bank lawyers, branch managers, top bank executives, and other personnel involved in lending to the target group. Most teaching occurs on a day-to-day basis in the form of intensive on-the-job training - we are convinced that only extensive on-the-job practice can produce a good loan officer.

Altogether, more than 7,350 loan officers, bank lawyers, and dozens of bank counterparts have been trained to date. Many Russians who started their banking career with the Programme can be found today at RSBF partner banks and other banks in such leading positions, as bank directors, branch managers or heads of credit.

Who are the RSBF trainers? 

Today, quite a few years since the beginning of the project, a large share of training is done by Russian Senior Credit Experts, who themselves started with the RSBF as loan officers-trainees in the mid-90s. One of the preconditions of a successful career with the RSBF is flexibility, since many of the staff are required to travel extensively, moving from city to city in order to open new projects and supervise lending operations in various project locations.

The "first-generation" trainers were Foreign Long-Term Credit Experts with working experience in similar fields or lending projects across Western Europe, the United States and/or some other countries in Latin America, Africa, or Asia. Today, their work is mainly focused on training and guiding the Russian trainers, co-ordinating and supervising lending operations for entire regions.

Lending operations are conducted by highly-qualified experts who underwent special intensive training within the framework of the Programme's technical assistance package and who are seconded to the partner banks as their permanent staff along with the credit technology.