The Department was established in 1931 and was previously called as "Department of monetary circulation and credit". This department was one of the most important since the establishment of the Institute and has made a significant contribution to the training of specialists for the banking sector. Department of Banking was separated from the Department of monetary circulation and credit and became the independent unit in 1996. The first head of the department during 1931 -1935 years was Associate Professor Prasolov N.M., who worked part-time as the head of the Tatar Republican office of the State Bank of the USSR. The following prominent scientists worked for the Department: Professors Lucinschi M.F., Usmanov M.D., Blinov L.P., Associate Professors Bareev A.B., Timokhin G.S., Kornilov I.M., Stolpirova L.M., Kupriyanov O.A., Luchinskaya L.M, Tamarchenko M.L., Khamidullin G.N., Mezina N.V.
The modern banking is developed by Professors Vagizova V.I.; Associate Professors Andreeva O.V., Bulatova E.I., Gunicheva A.V., Daryakin A.A., Ikhsanova L.R., Ulyanova L.A.; senior lecturers Duvalova E.P., Selivanova K.M., Igonina A.S., Zahmatov D.Y.; Professor Assistants Akhmetova G.Z., Bondarenko V.D., Klaas J.A., Protsko E.S., Rodionov E.B., Terenteva K.L.
Today the Department is headed by Venera Ildusovna Vagizova, the Doctor of Economics, Professor, Honored Economist of the Republic of Tatarstan, expert of banking.
The Department works closely with the Banking Association of Tatarstan, the National Bank of the Republic of Tatarstan, the leading credit institutions, partner universities for training the banking specialists. Partners of the department are:
- Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics;
- Wroclaw (Poland) State Economic University.
The Department is focused on cooperation with experts who implement complementarity of theoretical and practical knowledge: Bulatova E.I., Battalova A.A., Rodionov E.B. and others.
Currently the Department offers 32 teaching courses. Bachelor's and Master's programs work successfully. Master’s programs "The Banks and the Banking", "Banks and the Real Economy", "International Banking" are in demand by students. As part of the master's programs, the author's courses are developed: "Corporate Governance in Banking Organizations", "Crisis Management in Credit Institutions", "Risk Management System in Commercial Banks", "Financial Management in the Bank", "Management of Distressed Assets in Credit Organizations ","Client-Oriented Technology ","Project and Venture Financing", "International Financial Institutions and Development Banks","Compliance and Financial Monitoring", "Personal Finance", "Islamic Banking".
All disciplines of the Department are supported by the teaching materials and manuals, electronic educational resources. The materials of the educational process are constantly updated to reflect current trends in the banking market.
Discussion club "Opinion" is organized by the Department. The Department of Banking works closely with the students focused on research activities. Teachers, postgraduates and students are actively involved in Russian and international scientific conferences, competitions and have different diplomas, letters of thanks. In 2012, Professor Assistant Klaas Jana Arturovna became the winner of the Republican contest "50 BEST INNOVATIVE IDEAS FOR THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN" in the "Socio-economic development of the Republic of Tatarstan" (supervised by Prof. Vagizova V.I). According to the results of examination of applications for research projects, the application of the Department of Banking under the supervision of Prof. Vagizova on "Building cross-border regional banking cluster: historical features and modern contribution to the economy of the Volga region" became the winner of "Volga lands in Russian history and culture" by unanimous decision of the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation (Record from February 14, 2013). The study of this topic would make a significant contribution to the economy of the Volga region. In 2013, the Department of Banking has won the All-Russian contest "Best Economic Department - 2012".
The research work of the department is carried out in the following fundamental areas:
- The development of effective interaction between the banking and real sectors of the economy;
- Integration of the Russian banking sector in the context of globalization of financial markets;
- Financial and credit mechanism of high technologies commercialization;
- Modern banking.
The department is actively involved in Russian and international scientific conferences. At the initiative of the Department, the first international scientific and practical conference "Strategy of interaction between the real and banking sectors in Russia and Poland in modern conditions" was conducted in May, 2012. The conference was held with the participation of the scientists from Russia and Poland, representatives from the real sector of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Polish government, the Polish Consulate in Russia, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Tatarstan, Ministry of Economy and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Banking Association of Tatarstan, the banking sector of the Republic of Tatarstan and Poland. Following the conference, proposals for the development of effective interaction between the banking and real sectors of the economy were presented.
In October 2012, at the initiative of the Department of Banking, Kazan Federal University signed a cooperation agreement with Wroclaw State Economic University (Poland). The result of this cooperation was the development of the International Master's double degree program in two spheres: "The banks and the real economy", "International Banking". The Department is planning to develop the faculty and student exchange based on that agreement.