Page 50 - UKRRptNov18

8.1.4 Bank news
Ukraine’s PrivatBank posts UAH5.356bn net profit in nine months.
Ukrainain state-owned Privatbank posted a net profit of UAH5.356bn ($190mn) for the first nine months of this year, the bank reported on October 19, citing the chairman of the board of the financial institution Peter Krumhansl. The profit was the first the bank has earned since government nationalised Privatbank in December 2016 after it failed to fulfil a three-year recapitalisation plan "As you know, in September 2018 PrivatBank formed 100% of reserves for the debts of ten foreign borrowing companies, which arose before nationalization. The bank will use all possible methods to return its loan funds, but for now it has to cover losses of the previous periods in the amount of UAH5.9bn from profit for the current activities. Despite all, as of October 1, 2018 PrivatBank received a net profit of UAH5.356bn," he said in an interview with the Ekonomichna Pravda edition. The net interest income of PrivatBank amounted to UAH10.6bn, while net commission income stood at UAH11.7bn, according to Krumhansl. "However, I can firmly promise you that by the end of 2018 PrivatBank will be one of the most profitable banks in the market," the banker said reports Interfax Ukraine. According to him, the bank will not need additional capitalization in the coming years. Krumhansl also said that he has met with western investors who are monitoring the bank’s progress and speculated that the bank could be privatised in the coming years.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Ukraine's PJSC CB PrivatBank's (PB) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'B-' . The Outlooks are Stable. According to a press release of Fitch, simultaneously, Fitch has affirmed the bank's 'b-' Viability Rating (VR) and upgraded the National Long-Term Rating to 'AA(ukr)' from 'AA-(ukr)'.
France's insurance group AXA had entered into an agreement with Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, which will sell all its insurance operations in Ukraine and exit the Ukrainian market, AXA said in a statement published on October 23. Under the terms of the agreement, Fairfax would acquire 100% of the non-life entity AXA Insurance (through its subsidiary FFHL Group Ltd.) and the life entity AXA Insurance Life in Ukraine. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, the statement reads. AXA Insurance in Ukraine is a joint venture between AXA (50% shareholding) and
50 UKRAINE Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com