Digital transformation of the banking system of Russia with the introduction of blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies

The article analyzes the problems of the development of modern banking business in Russia in the context of the growing share of large banks in the market. The aim of the work is to determine the need for the introduction of new advanced technologies by small and medium banks in order to increase the efficiency of their activities. The working hypothesis is that against the background of low economic growth in Russia and high competition among state and quasi-state banks, small and medium-sized banks can remain competitive only through cooperation and the introduction of new advanced technologies (artificial intelligence technology and blockchain technology). The article provides a brief overview of theoretical and empirical studies of the introduction of modern information technologies in banking. Briefly describes the international experience in implementing information technology in the financial sector of the economy. The article also provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the development of the modern Russian banking system. The analysis of official statistics of the Bank of Russia was carried out, which confirmed the tendency to decrease in the number of banks in the Russian economy, as well as the increase in the degree of monopolization of the banking sector of the Russian economy. Together, these two phenomena lead to increased competition between large banks on the one hand and medium and small banks on the other, in which the latter can only be actively introduced by new information technologies. The study clearly showed that the monopolization of the banking sector leads to the need to look for new development paths for small and medium-sized banks through the introduction of modern technologies.