The Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Igor Shuvalov, (left) and Troika Dialog CEO Ruben Vardanian (center) joined Mike on a panel about Russia’s future at The Russia Forum, an international investment conference in Moscow. Mike also gave a keynote speech and said that many of the world’s largest financial institutions were too leveraged before the recent financial crisis. "They had no basis for a business," he said, "because at their leverage ratios, no one is smart enough to withstand the volatility of financial markets. Over the long run, the best way to maximize profitability is not to increase leverage, but rather to analyze underlying credit properly."