At the national level, the landscape has also been significantly transformed to become more liberalised, more market oriented with greater adoption of technology. With more developed intermediaries and markets, the financial system has now become more complex, sophisticated and diversified. With the increased risks associated with these changes, equally significant has been the transformation of the regulatory and supervisory framework. These structural shifts are reshaping the demand for talent across the world. The success of businesses and the effectiveness of governments and policy makers critically depend on having the right talent. Increasingly, talent has become the most important asset of an organisation. As job complexities intensify, talent with new competencies and higher skill sets including technical skills with digital capabilities will be required. Developing skills for analytical and creative thinking skills will also be needed to promote innovation, solve complex problems, deal with the potential for multiple scenarios and to effectively manage wide ranging trade-offs. Given the increased level of international business, it will also be vital for talent to be able to deal with globalisation – an environment with a more diverse workforce and to be able to be able to operate effectively across different cultures, generations and perspectives. Communication skills, the potential to work collaboratively and managing complex relationships are further new skills required in this environment. Equally important are the new leadership skills that are needed in this new more complex, more ambiguous and highly uncertain environment. This includes the ability to manage in crisis conditions.

We can see that deviations from the normal level of payments vary by industry, fluctuating from week to week, but the overall trend towards normalisation is undeniable. 1/7  BIS central bankers' speeches  For example, in the last week, the total deviation of incoming payments down from the normal level was −7.1% compared to −7.3% the week before. But excluding mining, the production of petroleum products, and government activities, the deviation also decreased to total −1% after −4.4% a week earlier. The Bank of Russia transitioned to a loose monetary policy, cutting its key rate to 4.25% — a historic low. This is necessary to keep inflation on target against the backdrop of disinflationary risks linked with a significant drop in aggregate demand. But this monetary policy focus will also help the economy return to potential more quickly. That said, it is important to take into account that the structural changes in both the Russian and global economy, generated by the pandemic, have most likely affected the potential of the economy. How extensively — it remains to be seen and evaluated. The banking sector is supporting recovery processes: corporate loans have grown by 5.5% since the beginning of the year (growth was only 5.8% last year). Of course, this is also because companies that experienced a sharp drop in revenue experienced a need for debt financing. But the banking sector overall has continued to lend, and we estimate that lending growth will be up to 9% this year.