On 28 November, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy and members of the NBU Board met with G7 Ambassadors, other representatives of G7 embassies, and the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
The parties discussed in detail the Ukrainian banking system’s successful efforts to meet the challenges posed by the war, as well as further financial support for Ukraine, the macroeconomic situation, and progress on cooperation with the IMF.
The meeting focused on the NBU’s new organizational structure and the improved distribution of powers between members of the NBU Board. Specifically, the participants discussed Financial Stability, a newly established line of command that reports to NBU First Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova. The NBU Governor also introduced Dmytro Oliinyk, a new member of the NBU Board and a strong addition to the NBU team. He is in charge of the Prudential Supervision line of command.
The Ukrainian side emphasized that despite the war and continuous blackouts, the banking system remains resilient and stable: the SEP and the NBU’s information systems continue to operate, payment cards are being serviced, noncash payments are being made in business-as-usual mode, and individuals have uninterrupted access to their funds.
"One of the issues currently in our focus is ensuring the banks’ business continuity as russia perpetrates energy terrorism. Its recent missile attacks have caused temporary blackouts, but the banking system has sustained no systemic disruptions. This is a result of coordinated actions by our team and systemically important banks, and we will continue to fortify our safeguards," said Andriy Pyshnyy. "We are developing a project with a working title Power Banking. This will be a perimeter connecting at least 1,000 bank branches that will operate as a single network in conditions of an extreme emergency."
The NBU leadership informed the G7 and EU Ambassadors about the results of the IMF’s Ukraine mission. Those include a staff-level agreement on the priorities and parameters of Ukraine’s government policy that are necessary to reduce risks to the stability of the Ukrainian economy and lay the groundwork for economic recovery.
"Our immediate goal is the approval of the Program Monitoring, which should pave the way to securing a program in 2023 that will provide financing. This will give the green light to the consolidation of our partners’ efforts to help Ukraine, making it possible to finance a significant budget deficit in 2023," said Andriy Pyshnyy.
The NBU Governor also thanked the G7 and EU countries for their unprecedented push to support Ukraine, primarily through financial aid, and for their resolve to keep providing assistance for as long as is necessary.
Specifically, the NBU is counting on the disbursement, by the end of this year, of a recently announced tranche of direct budget support from the U.S. mobilized through a World Bank trust fund. The NBU also commends the EU’s initiative to launch an unprecedented support package for Ukraine of up to EUR 18 billion in macrofinancial assistance for 2023. This is more than all funds the EU has allocated to Ukraine over the past eight years. The regularity of international aid installments will guarantee the financing of public expenditures and the maintenance of international reserves at adequate levels.
In conclusion, the NBU Governor welcomed the European Parliament’s and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s decision to designate russia a state sponsor of terrorism. The decision is fair, he said, as this assessment opens the door to making russia pay a fair price for the unprovoked war it has started.