Purpose: The article characterizes efferent and afferent trends as a strategic factor in the evolution and development of the banking system of the Russian Federation. Design/Methodology/Approach: The article reveals the peculiarities of the processes of mergers, takeovers, and acquisitions taking place in the Russian market, emphasizes their evolutionary and cyclical nature, making a conclusion about the optimization of existing business processes, the transition to a market-oriented way of managing capital. Results: The phenomenon of bank mergers and acquisitions is another step in the evolution of financial capital. This process should be considered against the background of the development of the entire industry of financial markets associated with the organization of new institutions and extinction of outdated forms of organization of redistributive processes. Practical implications: Solving number of tasks related to the optimization of existing business processes, the transition to a market-oriented way to manage capital are critically important for the successful restructuring of the financial architecture under the pressure of new technological challenges for domestic banks. Slowdowns in these processes will lead to the need to tackle cross-cutting tasks, which will create risks for providing financial resources for the entire economy. Originality/Value: Prospective systemic changes in the banking sector of Russia will also affect the sphere of mergers, while the processes will simultaneously move in several directions. The institutions who failed to restructure business processes in a new technological environment will have to leave the market due to the outflow of customers.

peer-reviewed