International technical partnership is one aspect of the NBU’s international relations. The NBU develops this area together with international development partners by attracting and sharing the best international experience and special expertise, obtaining intellectual property rights, providing consultations, and carrying out research. The NBU also shares with the international financial community its own experience and expertise in implementing the most successful internal transformation projects and reforms of Ukraine’s financial system – including its unique experience and expertise in ensuring financial stability and business continuity under martial law.
The purpose of the international technical partnership is to facilitate the effective performance of functions and strengthen the institutional capacity of the financial sector regulator, introduce the latest technologies and best international standards, and improve the NBU’s image in the international financial community.
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International technical cooperation involves making use of the experience and expertise of international development partners to achieve the highest standards of NBU institutional capacity, as well as obtaining international technical assistance for the NBU, including: resources and services provided to the NBU on a free and irrevocable basis by international development partners in accordance with current international treaties ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The NBU receives international technical assistance in the form of consultations, experts’ work during meetings and missions, products and intellectual property rights, and so on.
International technical cooperation measures are aimed at improving monetary policy, regulating and supervising the activities of banks and non-bank financial institutions, ensuring the stability of the financial system, and increasing the level of financial inclusion of citizens. They are also aimed at protecting the rights of financial services consumers and investors, bringing financial sector participants’ reporting in line with international standards, developing payment market infrastructure and settlement operations, developing digital technologies in finance, promoting sustainable finance and building a green economy, and more.
The NBU directs international technical cooperation measures to addressing the most pressing issues, and maintains an ongoing dialogue with international development partners. Key partners that have been assisting Ukraine and the NBU over the years include: The European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU), the International Monetary Fund (hereinafter referred to as the IMF), the World Bank Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the central banks and financial market regulators of other countries.
Due to Ukraine’s EU candidate status and the desire of international partners to increase assistance to the country, the number of new technical assistance projects/programs and the scope of assistance provided by central banks and financial regulators of the EU and other developed countries has increased. In 2023, the NBU’s international technical cooperation was carried out in line with the strategic priorities for the development of Ukraine’s financial system. The most relevant topics for the NBU in learning about best international practices and gaining international experience were as follows: ensuring macro-financial sustainability and stability during martial law and post-war recovery, implementing monetary policy, ensuring exchange rate stability, regulating and supervising the financial sector, and introducing innovations. Also among the topics were issues of operating payment systems, including the possibilities for integrating Ukrainian banks into the payment infrastructure of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), improving the electronic remote identification of individuals using the NBU’s BankID system, and improving communications, including monetary policy, on the regime of limited exchange rate flexibility, developing the NBU brand, raising the level of financial literacy (including support for relevant information campaigns), improving the level of protection of financial services consumers, insuring against military and political risks, etc.
The NBU regularly holds joint meetings with international development partners to discuss current issues and the results of its international technical cooperation.
At the national level, the NBU participates in a three-tiered system for coordinating international technical assistance to Ukraine, which operates at the national level and is supported by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
Since 2017, the NBU has become an international platform for the exchange of experience and special expertise between members of the global financial community. The NBU holds international conferences, meetings, roundtables, bilateral expert events, and meetings, and shares its achievements and special expertise in establishing and operating an independent regulator.
In 2023, the NBU held three international events:
At the invitation of international development partners and central banks of other countries, the NBU participated in international conferences, roundtables, and forums on the regulation of non-bank financial institutions, accession to SEPA, wartime cash management, monetary policy, cybersecurity, payment systems, financial stability, banking supervision, financial inclusion, and consumer protection, among other topics.
An important achievement of the NBU in international technical partnerships was the creation in 2022 of a new area to transfer the NBU’s experience and specialized knowledge, as well as the further increase in demand for the NBU’s expertise from EU countries and developed countries. Given the general geopolitical tensions, partners are interested in Ukraine’s experience and the actual work of the NBU in a turbulent environment, as the experience of a country at war and facing such extraordinary challenges on a daily basis is unique. That is why financial sector regulators in other countries are eager to take into account the lessons learned by the NBU to ensure the resilience and adaptability of the financial system. In 2023-2024, the NBU shared its experience regarding:
An NBU accounting expert also participated in an International Monetary Fund (hereinafter referred to as the IMF) technical assistance mission to the Bank of Albania on the application of IFRS by the Bank of Albania.
