The closing ceremony of the USAID Financial Sector Development Project (FINREP), which was designed to provide assistance to Ukraine in addressing the consequences of the economic and financial crisis and creating a reliable, transparent and resilient financial system, has recently taken place. The government bodies, public institutions of Ukraine, including the National Bank of Ukraine were involved in the project implemented in 2009 – 2012.
The main tasks of the USAID Financial Sector Development Project were to provide assistance to the National Bank of Ukraine in strengthening the legal framework of the banking sector of Ukraine, elaborating and implementing the measures aimed at increasing financial literacy among the general population of Ukraine, keeping the public informed about the activity and role of the National Bank of Ukraine and the banking sector in the economic life of Ukraine, etc.
The managers of the National Bank of Ukraine are well aware of the fact that greater awareness among the consumers of financial services lays the foundation for a more efficient and competitive financial system. In order to resume and enhance confidence in the financial sector and encourage the greater part of the population of Ukraine to participate in the financial system, it is necessary to improve financial literacy and strengthen the protection of the rights of consumers of financial products and services in the country.
Mr. Oleksandr Petryk, Director of General Economic Department, who took part in the closing ceremony of the USAID Financial Sector Development Project (FINREP), highly appreciated the value of the Project. “The National Bank of Ukraine gives its full support to this program and we have established a working group that deals with these issues on a daily basis and coordinates activities related to the USAID Project. I believe that the National Bank of Ukraine is one of the government institutions that has a keen interest in the successful implementation of this Project,” said Mr. Oleksandr Petryk, explaining that financial education in schools is of great importance as the financial decisions taken by today’s school children in a few years' time will contribute to ensuring the financial stability and keeping low inflation expectations that will promote the efficiency of monetary policy.
The pilot project designed to include a Financial Literacy course in the secondary school curriculum has been launched due to the efforts made by the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the USAID Financial Sector Development Project (FINREP). To this end, the appropriate manuals have been published, workshops designed to provide an insight into the methodology for teachers are being conducted.
“Financial knowledge should be spread among the greater part of the population,” said Director of General Economic Department Oleksandr Petryk.
The National Bank of Ukraine hopes that the activity related to the USAID Financial Sector Development Project (FINREP ІІ), a new five-year project to be implemented in Ukraine in 2012 – 2017, will turn out to be successful and efficient.