The worst of the banking crisis in Russia has passed, but the slowdown in business activity is pushing financial institutions to take stock of the risks they have assumed, according to the Bank of Russia.

In its Banking Supervision Report for 2008, Sergey Ignatiev, the central bank's governor, noted that banks suffered for their loans to the non-financial sector. He said that they must raise capital amidst worsening financial conditions in order to gain security in the medium term, and added