On October 17-19 Sochi hosts the annual forum Finopolis 2018 on application of modern digital technologies in te financial sector. The forum is held by the Central Bank of Russia in partnership with IT and finance leaders.

Sberbank CEO Herman Gref traditionally gave a speech at the forum, and we have collected the most noteworthy parts of his speech based on the monitoring of Russian online media.

On blockchain

The blockchain technology has a big future, but it isn’t ready yet. When will it be ready? In three to five years, I think.

The society spends little on developing this technology, so it is re-financing itself. I think it is a terrific phenomenon and we need to reconsider it. There aren’t many examples of a fundamentally new technology progressing due to self-funding mechanism.

I believe the hype is over. Now we see more balanced assessment of blockchain technology. It has big prospects in finance and state governance.

On cryptocurrency

Can I predict the future of cryptocurrency? I don’t see any, at the moment. The state will not concede its centralized role and give room to cryptocurrency. However, that could be the right decision. I can something happening for cryptocurrency in ten year’s time, but it does not look like the state is ready yet to let go of the centralized model of money supply.


On competence

Nowadays, the more successful companies are the ones that bet on competence of highly qualified experts, not on investment.

Investment is not the most important thing. What matters the most is competence, concentration of highly competent specialists, and a flexible model of management. It is far more important than large capital.

Companies with large capital – much larger than tech enterprises have – often suffer from lack of competence.

Technological companies are winning thanks to concentration of intellect and a flexible model of management. They can change their business models quickly.

On regulation

Regulation of markets by the authorities and central banks has to adjust to individual actors or groups. In other words, it needs to be customized, smart. Sometimes regulation treats a small illness, but at the same time creates substantial problems for market players. Regulation needs to be smart and I think it’s a relevant topic now.

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