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National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine. Net profit at PrivatBank, nationalised in late 2016, jumped 2.5 times year on year to UAH 32.6bn ($1.2bn) in 2019, ​the lender said in financial statements published in May​. The assets of PrivatBank increased by 11.4% y/y to UAH309.7bn last year. PrivatBank's net profit for the year 2019 amounted to more than half of the profit of the whole banking sector of Ukraine for 2019. The net interest income amounted to UAH19.7bn, net commission income UAH18.2bn, trade income and revaluations, including foreign exchange revaluation, government bonds and property revaluation UAH7.5bn, operating expenses UAH14.8bn.
Supreme Court affirms NBU had no grounds to declare Bakhmatyuk bank insolvent. ​Ukraine’s Supreme Court ruled on June 17 to reject an appeal of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) against the rulings of lower courts that declared invalid the NBU’s recognition as insolvent of Finansova Initsiatyva Bank in June 2015, Ukrlandfaming (UKRLAN) reported on its website the next day, citing owner Oleg Bakhmatyuk. Recall, Finansova Initsiatyva was the second bank owned by Bakhmatyuk that was recognized insolvent, after VAB Bank in November 2014. Commenting on the ruling to Interfax-Ukraine on June 19, Bakhmatyuk said he believes the NBU might still appeal to the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court, but said he expects this won’t change the result. He promised to demand compensation for the bank, based on the recently adopted IMF-required banking law. At the same time, he said his offer to settle debt issues with the NBU and the Deposit Guarantee Fund remain on the table. Recall, in November 2019, Bakhmatyuk claimed that he had been close to reaching a deal, under which he would repay up to UAH8.5bn of debt of his two failed banks to the state bodies in eight years. Now Bakhmatyuk is out of Ukraine, while the National Anti-Corruption Bureau is investigating his involvement in alleged conspiracy aimed at misappropriating a refinancing loan taken by VAB Bank in 2014.
Zelensky openly pressures Ukreximbank, promises to make all banks to lower rates​. Ukrainian President Zelenskiy indulged in his latest populist political stunt in recent days, this time drawing heavy criticism for his ignorance of banking and corporate governance rules in attempting to interfere in the operations of a state-owned bank. During a recorded meeting with regional businessmen in Khmelnytsk on June 3, the president heard complaints from local entrepreneurs that they are unable to extend their loans for one year in Ukreximbank. Reacting to this, he placed a phone call to the newly appointed bank CEO Yevhen Metzger, asking him to “solve this issue” and offer a broad solution “so that people can repay their borrowings in one year.” The next day, he told another meeting in the region that “we will pressure lenders in any case” so that borrowing rates will be “maximum 5-6%” in the local currency. He said that this will be possible after the central bank reduces its key rate.
8.2 ​Central Bank policy rate
To kickstart Ukraine’s economic recovery, the central bank cut the prime rate by an unexpected 2 percentage points, to 6%, the lowest level​ since Ukraine won independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It was the ninth straight cut in 14 months, a series that started in April of last year when the prime rate was 18%. Effective June 12, the new rate is below the 7% target rate the National Bank of Ukraine had set for the end of this year.
58​ UKRAINE Country Report​ July 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com