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International Technical Partnership (ITP)

International technical partnership is one of the areas of international relations of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). The NBU develops international technical partnerships with international development partners by adopting and sharing the world's best practices and acquiring specialized knowledge, obtaining intellectual property rights, conducting consultations and research, as well as disseminating to the international financial community the NBU's experience and knowledge of the most successful internal transformation projects and reforms of Ukraine's financial system, including the NBU'sunique experience and knowledge of ensuring financial stability and continuity of processes under martial law.

The aim of international technical partnership is to support the effective performance of the regulator’s functions, strengthen its institutional capacity, introduce cutting-edge technologies and the best world standards, and promote the NBU’s image in the global financial community.

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International technical cooperation involves experience and expert knowledge shared by international development partners to reach the highest standards of the NBU’s institutional capacity, as well as the international technical assistance for the NBU, including resources and services provided to the NBU on a free-of-charge or non-repayable basis by international development partners in line with the applicable international agreements that were ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The NBU receives international technical assistance in the form of consultations, experts’ participation in meetings and missions, intellectual property products and rights, and so on.

International technical cooperation aims to improve monetary policy and to regulate and supervise banks and nonbank financial institutions, to safeguard the stability of the financial system, to raise households’ financial inclusion, to protect the rights of financial services consumers and investors, to bring the reporting of financial sector participants into line with international standards, to develop payment and settlement infrastructure, to develop digital technologies in finance, to promote sustainable finance and build a green economy, and more.

The NBU directs international technical cooperation measures to address the most pressing issues, and maintains an ongoing dialogue with international development partners. The key partners that have been assisting Ukraine and the NBU over the years include: The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and central banks and financial market regulators of other countries.

New technical assistance projects/programs increased in both number and volume. Support under these initiatives was provided by EU central banks and regulators from EU member states and other developed countries. This increase in funding was driven by the shift in geopolitical priorities, Ukraine's acquisition of EU candidacy, the NBU's and Ukraine's more proactive position in establishing international relations, and the desire of international partners to ramp up aid to our country. 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 to learn about the best international practices and gain international experience were as follows: ensuring macrofinancial stability and stability during martial law and postwar recovery, implementing monetary policy, ensuring exchange rate stability, regulating and supervising the banking sector and nonbank financial institutions, introducing innovations, and maintaining the operation of payment systems, including the possibility of integrating Ukrainian banks into the payment infrastructure of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), improving the electronic remote identification of individuals using NBU BankID System, and improving communications, including on monetary policy, the regime of limited flexibility of the exchange rate, development of the NBU's brand, improving financial literacy (including support of relevant information campaigns), enhancing consumer protection in financial services, insuring against war and political risks, and more.

The NBU holds regular joint meetings with its international development partners to discuss relevant issues and the results of the implementation of international technical assistance projects.

At the national level, the NBU is also involved in the nationwide three-tier system of coordinating international technical assistance to Ukraine, which is supported by the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

ІІ. Sharing and spreading the experience of the National Bank (international technical and expert cooperation)

Since 2017, the NBU has evolved into an international platform for exchanging experience and specialized knowledge among participants in the global financial community. The NBU hosts international conferences, meetings, roundtables, bilateral expert meetings, and events, sharing its achievements and expertise related to its establishment and functioning as an independent regulator.

In 2023, the NBU hosted three international events:

  • 7th Annual Research Conference Economic Policies during Wartime and Post-War Recovery
  • 5th Annual International Roundtable Strategic Planning for the Financial Sector: Moving Forward under Uncertainty
  • Workshop Monetary Policy in Emerging Markets: Understanding the Causes and Consequences of a New Wave of Inflation

Invited by international development partners and central banks, the NBU participated in international conferences, roundtables, and forums on the regulation of nonbank financial institutions, SEPA accession, cash management in wartime, monetary policy, cybersecurity, payment systems, financial stability, banking supervision, financial inclusion, protection of consumer rights, and more.

ІII. Technical assistance from the National Bank to central banks and financial sector regulators in other countries (technical assistance from the National Bank)

The NBU’s important achievement in international technical partnership was the establishment in 2022 of a new area: provision of technical assistance from the NBU, and the continued increase in demand for NBU experience from EU countries and other developed countries. Given the overall geopolitical tension, partners are interested in Ukraine’s experience and the NBU’s work in a turbulent environment, as the experience of a country that is at war and that faces unique challenges every day is unique in each individual case. Financial sector regulators from other countries therefore seek to take into account the lessons learned by the NBU to ensure the stability and adaptability of the financial system. In 2023, the NBU shared its experience:

  • with Eesti Pank, on oversight and preparedness for extreme crises in the field of payment systems
  • with Sveriges Riksbank, on maintaining the functionality of payment systems before and during russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine
  • with the Bank of England, on making payment and settlement transactions and ensuring the NBU’s resilience amid russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine
  • with Sveriges Riksbank and the Bank of England, on running the NBU’s Power Banking project
  • with Eesti Pank, on regulating the use of cloud technologies to reduce risks 
  • with Latvijas Banka, on implementation of crisis communications
  • with the ECB, on aspects of conducting an internal audit in a central bank
  • with Sveriges Riksbank, on personnel management during martial law.

Furthermore, an accounting expert from the NBU participated in the International Monetary Fund’s technical assistance mission on IFRS 17 to the Central Bank of Albania.