The NBU published the eighth Report on Activities of the Financial Stability Council (“the Council”) for the period from August 2022 to July 2023.
The protracted full-scale war and russia’s terrorist attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure were the dominant risks for Ukraine’s financial system in the past year. As usual, the Council focused on issues that were the most relevant for financial stability and discussed systemic risks to the financial sector at each meeting. The Council members noted that the financial sector and economy as a whole have adapted to operating in extreme conditions, including thanks to regular international financial assistance. Overall, risks subsided from record-high levels of H1 2022.
The priority issue on the Council's agenda was to support the banking sector and its clients during the war. In particular, the Council members reviewed and supported the proposals of the government and the NBU to optimize the State Program Affordable Loans 5%–7%–9% and implement the Power Banking project considering their importance for the uninterrupted operation of the banking system and financial stability in general.
The Council paid considerable attention to Ukraine's fulfillment of commitments under the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies with the International Monetary Fund. To this end, the Council reviewed and approved the new Strategy of Ukrainian Financial Sector Development prepared by the Financial Development Committee. The new document focuses on withstanding russian aggression and reconstructing the country.
The Council also heard reports on the activities of the working groups established by the Council, in particular the one on the revival of the domestic debt market. The Council members supported the need for further assessment of market demand as a condition for revitalizing the domestic debt market and ensuring full refinancing of redemptions on domestic government debt securities in 2023.
In the reporting period, the Council also supported the NBU's proposed concept for resilience assessment of banks and the banking system and heard a report by the Deposit Guarantee Fund on its efforts to recover the assets of insolvent banks.
The Financial Stability Council was established by a presidential decree in March 2015. The Council is an interagency body and a platform for professional discussions on financial stability.
The Council consists of: NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy, Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii Marchenko (both are co-chairs of the Council), First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko (from March 2023), Head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission Ruslan Mahomedov, Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund Svitlana Rekrut, NBU First Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova, NBU Deputy Governor Dmytro Oliinyk, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine for European Integration Yurii Drahanchuk, and Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Rostyslav Shurma.
The Council identifies systemic risks and threats to financial stability and develops recommendations in order to mitigate their impact on the financial system.