Speaking at a working session focused on devising the Development Strategy for the Ukrainian banking sector and setting out the banking sector reform agenda, Mr Vladyslav Rashkovan, Director of Department for Banking System Strategy and Reform of the National Bank of Ukraine said that the domestic banking system required urgent changes.
“Recent developments in the banking sector clearly demonstrate that it faces serious structural problems. However, the banking community should respond to these challenges in a strategic and effective manner. The tactical approach to addressing the challenges faced by the banking sector that provides only a temporary solution to the problem is no longer working. Devising the Development Strategy for the next 3 – 5 years will require a broader approach,” noted Mr Vladyslav Rashkovan.
The central bank officials together leading bankers, experts from international and national financial institutions discussed the existing problems, suggested ways to tackle them, and considered the main areas of activities of the financial industry. The participants contemplated a wide range of issues, including corporate governance, monetary adjustment, infrastructure and sustainable development of financial institutions, the protection of the rights of creditors and depositors, expansion of financial markets' toolkit, measures to ensure the efficient banking supervision, as well as ways to address the long-existing problems that create obstacles for the banking sector in its development path.
“As experience shows, bankers and the National Bank of Ukraine officials see eye to eye on issues of systemic importance. Therefore, close cooperation between the regulator and the banking community appears logical. By providing a platform for discussion, the National Bank of Ukraine offers the banking associations a unique opportunity to maintain a dialogue and exchange views. We hope that this dialogue will be the first step towards achieving consolidation in the banking associations. We have to make every effort to approve the so called roadmap for the banking system so that the market is aware of which way to go,” said Mr Vladyslav Rashkovan.
When summarizing the outcome of today's meeting, he added that the participants had managed to identify what key areas to focus on when devising the Development Strategy for the Ukrainian banking sector until 2020.
Among the main tasks to be addressed in the near future, bankers determined the following: consolidate the efforts of banking associations, mitigate concentration risks arising in banks' operation and develop rehabilitation lending, expand cashless settlements, step up operations processed through the domestic payment system (NSMEP), improve the monetary policy and undergo the transition to inflation targeting, etc.
For reference
About 70 representatives of the banking community have participated in the session focused on devising the Development Strategy for the Ukrainian banking sector and setting out the banking sector reform agenda. Among them were members of the Board of Ukrainian banks, representatives of the Banking Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce, the Finance Committee of the European Business Association, the Forum for Leading International Financial Institutions, NABU, AUB, and the UCBU.