The National Bank of Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will work together to promote the financial inclusion and reintegration of war veterans in Ukraine.
To this end, on 9 April, during a conference on veterans' reintegration, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy and EBRD Managing Director for Financial Institutions Francis Malige signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the NBU and the EBRD (MoU), which outlines cooperation between the institutions to ensure coherence of the financial sector in implementing standards for inclusive activities and services, support and re-socialization of war veterans in Ukraine, as well as promote the Charter on Financial Inclusion and Reintegration of Veterans (Charter).
Ensuring the barrier-free and inclusive nature of the financial sector stands as a distinct objective within Ukraine's Financial Sector Development Strategy and a priority for the NBU.
“Ukraine's financial sector employs more than 200,000 Ukrainians and serves more than 30 million consumers. Many of them are now defending our country serving in the military. The task of the NBU and the financial system as a whole is to create conducive conditions for their reintegration into civilian life. This requires transformation on many levels: establishing an inclusive financial system that ensures equal access to financial services, crafting a new HR policy, and adopting a fresh approach to supporting corporate clients who may employ or cater to veterans. We must change, and we are prepared to do so. The financial sector fully supports the policy of heroes, which has become an integral part of the new doctrine of the Ukrainian state. By signing the Memorandum with the EBRD, we are taking the first important steps towards its implementation," commented NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy.
Under the MoU, the NBU and EBRD will support financial institutions across Ukraine to adopt standards set out in the Charter. The document is designed to make banks more accessible to hundreds of thousands of veterans, both as clients and employees, including through the following commitments:
- make financial services more accessible and inclusive for veterans to access and use on an equal basis
- remove obstacles that may impede veterans’ ability to return to work through the introduction of inclusive HR policies and practices in the financial sector, and
- ensure safe, i.e. trigger-free and risk-free, workplaces for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
- improve accessibility of the workplaces and premises to support veteran clients and employees through the use of modified equipment or devices
- support clients, who may employ or serve veterans, in becoming more inclusive.
So far, 28 banks have signed up, and more are ready to join. By joining the Charter, a bank attests to its commitment to adopting inclusive policies and transforming its business into one that ensures equal access to financial services for all clients without exception.
The war has chipped away at Ukraine’s skilled workforce, with several million people living outside the country or internally displaced inside Ukraine and hundreds of thousands more serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. A key element in planning the country’s continued economic resilience is boosting its human capital by attracting more people to return and work.
“Since February 2022, the EBRD has provided support to its clients on war-related emergency needs, helping to enhance the retention and reintegration of staff, skills development opportunities, and HR and operational processes,” said Francis Malige. With close to 880,000 people directly participating in military operations as of January 2024, we need bold, collective, and scalable approaches that can benefit many more people across the country.”
The Kyiv veterans’ reintegration conference was organized by the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, alongside the National Bank of Ukraine and the EBRD, in partnership with Korn Ferry, Kearney, and the Ukrainian Corporate Governance Academy (UCGA). Over 300 participants attended the event.