Mr. Ihor Sorkin, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine and Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, has unveiled the decision taken by the Administrative Board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund to raise the guaranteed reimbursement amount of funds on deposits that have become inaccessible from UAH 150 thousand to UAH 200 thousand.
“Reforming the household deposit guarantee system as part of measures to spur lending to the economy is stipulated in the Program of Economic Reforms for 2010-2014 initiated by the President of Ukraine. Some progress has been made in implementing the measures set forth in the aforementioned program. In particular, the Law of Ukraine “On Households Deposit Guarantee System” has been passed. It is designed to strengthen the protection of rights and legitimate interests of bank depositors who have entrusted their savings to banks. The next step is to raise the guaranteed reimbursement amount of funds on deposits that have become inaccessible,” noted Mr. Ihor Sorkin, reminding that the size of the guaranteed amount was last raised in November 2008.
“Household deposits are the core of the lending institution's resource base. The decision to raise the guaranteed amount from UAH 150 thousand to UAH 200 thousand has been taken to strengthen the public trust in the banking system and raise the level of protection of deposits. The preliminary work that has been carried out has resulted in the household deposit growth. As of 1 August 2012, household deposits had grown by UAH 40 billion, UAH 23 billion whereof falling on national currency deposits,” stressed Mr. Ihor Sorkin.
According to him, household deposits have climbed by 11% since the start of the year, compared with the household deposit growth of 13% recorded in 2011. Household deposits in the national currency account for more than half of total deposits (almost 52%).
“I believe that it testifies to the public confidence in the banking system, which should be reinforced by the state and the National Bank of Ukraine. I hope that this decision, on the one hand, will send a positive signal to depositors to boost their confidence in the safety of their deposits. On the other hand, it will allow banks to enhance their resource base to ramp up lending to the economy. And most importantly, it will prove the authorities’ commitment to protect the interests of every citizen who has entrusted his savings to the banking system,” said Mr. Ihor Sorkin, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine and Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.
The decision by the Administrative Board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund to raise reimbursement amount of funds on deposits has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine for the purpose of state registration.