Modern banks are the enterprises inherent in any normally functioning economic formation. They engage in providing credit and financing to the industries and trade requiring monetary capital as their contribution to the process. The banks also organize the issues of company bonds and shares. Currently there are many changes in banking due to the development of information technologies, financial engineering and the perfection of technical and software tools. Moreover, we now observe growing involvement of a role of small and medium size banks in financing world trade. In the present work the basic directions and modern methods employed by private commercial and regional banks are considered. The author analyzes factors, which make modern commercial banking appealing and evaluates their development. As a result, it is noted that creation of a steady, flexible and effective bank infrastructure is widely important in dealing with the economic reforms and transformation processes in the modern Russian economy. In this connection, the reliance on foreign experience is especially important in developing a banking industry that confirms to international standards so that Russian banks will be accepted by their partners worldwide. Finally, these measures will help to strengthen the trust between the Russian Federation and foreign economic partners.