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non-performing loans (NLPs) remain a huge problem. When the reforms started in 2014 Ukraine’s banks had the highest share of bad debt in the world. And it is still high, but falling steadily.
Today the aggregate level of NPLs in the sector is 40%, down from over 50% at the start of last year. But the spread is uneven. The privately owned banks have NPLs of 13%, the foreign-owned banks have 27%, but the state-owned banks have 43% and Kolomoisky’s former bank PrivatBank has a massive 72.5% of its loan book as bad debt – the legacy of the related-party loans the bank made to companies affiliated with Kolomoisky and his partners that have never been repaid.
It will probably take years to clean up the balance sheets of the state-owned banks, but Shevchenko says the plan is to get these banks into a state where they can be sold as fast as possible.
“For me the priority is the future privatisation of the state-owned banks. Today the state-owned banks hold some 55% of banking assets. It is a huge risk for the banking system and the country has been the world leader in the number of NPLs – over 50% of all loans,” says Shevchenko. “To privatise we should concentrate on two aspects: corporate governance and NPLs. There is no
doubt good corporate governance: an independent board of directors and the best practices are needed for a successful privatisation. At the same time, no private investor will buy a bank loaded down with NPLs, even if all those loans are provisioned for.”
The first steps in banking privatisation have already been taken. In February the IFC provided a convertible loan to Ukrgazbank, which Shevchenko ran for over 20 years before becoming NBU governor, as a first step to privatising the bank. The NPLs at the bank are
a manageable 12% of the book and Shevchenko says it is a “positive first step” towards the eventual privatisation of the bank.
But the big fish is PrivatBank. Now the largest and most profitable bank in the country, the management has
been changed and a new CEO recently appointed, but with an NPL level of over 70% it will need a lot more work to get it into a state where it can be sold.
“It would be better to sell this bank as soon as possible. We have submitted a strategy to the Cabinet of Ministers and we have to wait for the decision by the shareholders,” says Shevchenko.
Gorilla in the room
But Kolomoisky remains an issue for most onlookers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy launched an anti-oligarch campaign with his oligarch speech in March and the IMF insisted on a new banking law that bans returning banks to their former owners if they have been nationalised last year – dubbed the “anti-Kolomoisky banking law.”
In addition, the US broke new ground by imposing sanctions on Kolomoisky in March and opening a Grand Jury investigation into alleged money laundering operations in the US. But at home the legal fight with Kolomoisky is difficult, and made harder by the venal state of Ukraine’s courts.
“There are over 100 court cases that have been brought against the NBU by the former owners of PrivatBank that are attacking the nationalisation of PrivatBank. We are fighting these cases in the high courts of London and the US,” says Shevchenko.
Three years ago there was a case
to recognise the legitimacy of the nationalisation of the bank that was finally confirmed on May 14 and is a major step forward, as it clears the way for international arbitration courts to rule on the Kolomoisky case and the allegations that he whisked some $5bn
of PrivatBank’s money offshore.
“Ukraine has no chance of losing this fight. But the question is, how do we avoid these fights in the future?” says Shevchenko.
The governor points to the NPLs as the main issue and highlights the progress that has already been made in cleaning out the bad debt from existing banks and changes to the regulation of the banks to prevent their build-up again in the future.
“It is outside the mandate of the NBU, but we need strong anti-corruption framework. That is crucial. Without this, the battle against NPLs will be very hard,” says Shevchenko.
Shevchenko has called for the creation of a special court for the financial sector, similar to the anti-corruption court (ACC) that has already been set up at the IMF’s insistence.
“Why do we need this special court? The judicial system is unreformed. So how can we prevent NPLs? With a special court focused on the financial sector,” says Shevchenko.
The bank has sent its concept of the court to the Cabinet of Ministers, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and European Commission for consultations, and work on the idea is ongoing.
“We have a good and clean bank system. Fighting corruption is outside the NBU’s mandate but we cannot wait for the whole judicial system to be reformed. We have to have strong creditor rights protection to ensure the health of the sector in the future,” Shevchenko said.
Find more Eastern Europe content at www.bne.eu/eastern-europe
Selected headlines from past month:
· Belarus' economy will collapse without Russia's help
· Russia is back in the Mediterranean and it is there to stay · Moscow introduces mandatory coronavirus vaccination
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