First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Oleksandr Pysaruk is convinced that the situation in the banking sector could improve as long as Ukraine manages to tackle corruption successfully and implement judicial reform.

He noted that the financial system is not isolated from the nationwide economic developments. "If the country does not improve, the banking sector is unlikely to deliver better performance. If there are no positive changes and reforms, the banking system will not be able to demonstrate any positive developments," said Oleksandr Pysaruk.

He also added that recapitalization of banks and removal of non-viable banks from the market are the first and foremost steps toward purging the banking system.

These issues were high on the agenda of the round-table discussion on "The impact of monetary and foreign exchange policy on the real sector of the economy and attraction of investments into Ukraine", which was held on November 6, 2014, at the American Chamber of Commerce.

Oleksandr Pysaruk explained that the regulator is currently forced to take difficult, unexpected measures aimed at ensuring stability in the banking environment and harmonization of the economy as a whole: "The priority for the National Bank is to overcome the challenges arising from the instability in the country. As the central bank, we are forced to impose temporary restrictions, which, of course, have implications for businesses. We are not happy with having to resort to these measures, but we are fully aware that we should take these steps to stabilize the foreign exchange market and build an efficient banking system in the long run." He added that that all the restrictive measures will be rescinded once the situation shows signs of improvement: "I advise companies, businesses to wait a little until the situation in the country returns to normal rather than demand their rights by all means."