The National Bank of Ukraine has streamlined the procedure for identification and recognition of banking groups, thus enhancing the efficiency of consolidated supervision over these groups.
In particular, the NBU has identified the attributes pertaining to the exercise of control over banking group participants . These signs include:
ownership of the largest share in the authorized capital or shares in the company (group participant);
members of the management bodies of one group participant are employees or former employees of another group participant;
the availability of common funding sources to finance the activities of group participants; and
members of the companies' management bodies are the bank's related parties.
The NBU identified three conditions when these conditions are applied. First, if information on the ownership structure of a legal entity does not allow to identify its controller. Second, if information about the exercise of control over the legal entity is documented and made available to the public. Third, if there is no verified information about the ultimate beneficial owner of a legal entity.
Changes to the procedure for identification and verification of banking groups have:
introduced the term ”transparent ownership structure of the banking group”.
allowed the NBU to issue a decision on rejection of the request for derecognition of a banking group;
eased requirements for the execution of documents issued in a foreign country;
enabled an extension of the timeframe for submission of documents on the establishment of a banking group to the NBU for review and approval up to 30 calendar days upon the receipt of a well-substantiated request; and
specified the procedure for notifying the banking group participants and the controller about decisions taken by the NBU on the recognition of a banking group or rejection to recognize changes in the banking group’s ownership structure.
The amendments to this effect are approved by NBU Board Resolution No. 57 of 22 June June 2017 On Approval of Amendments Regulation on the Procedure for Identification and Recognition of Banking Groups, which shall come into force on the day following its official publication.