Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine said that the production of documents and letterheads (blank forms) that incorporate special security features had to be placed under state control, adding that the enterprises run by the National Bank of Ukraine, in particular, the Public Enterprise "Polygraph Combine "Ukraina" had the capacity to run a full-cycle production and make the required quantity of high quality products.

"In my view, the production process for ID documents and letterheads doesn’t require deploying any intermediaries between the state and consumers. The full-cycle production of these blank forms at the state-owned enterprises run by the National Bank of Ukraine would make it possible to lower output costs for consumers and guarantee a high level of protection and ensure the safe storage of personal data," said Mr Stepan Kubiv.

According to him, the streamlined manufacturing process for ID documents and letterheads subject to strict accountability is likely to increase revenues to the State Budget of Ukraine, including, due to the eradication of corruption that used to be a common problem.

Mr Stepan Kubiv said that the state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at the Public Enterprise "Polygraph Combine "Ukraina" would allow the plant to launch the technology to produce and issue biometric passports as scheduled, from January 1, 2015.

It should be mentioned that by virtue of an Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the State Center for Document Personalization has been placed into the hands of the National Bank of Ukraine, thus extending the mandate of the central bank to include manufacturing ID documents and letterheads (blank forms) that incorporate special security features.