Wednesday, 29 June 2016

National Bank of Ukraine

National Bank of Ukraine, Національний банк України, is the central bank of Ukraine. Its headquarters building, constructed between 1902 and 1934, is located at 9 vulytsia Institutska (Institute Street), in Kiev.

Before the fall of the Soviet Union during the times of perestroika, the National Bank of Ukraine was a republican branch of the Central Bank of the USSR, while there were registered number of banks with various status. There were over 15 banks of ministerial status, over 20 banks of state/cooperative institutions, Moscow banks in Ukraine, banks with state status. Officially, the National Bank of Ukraine acted as the Central Bank of Ukraine since early 1991 (while part of the Soviet Union). Like institutions of many newly independent nations, it faced dire financial straits during the 1990s, leading to a prolonged period of hyperinflation.

On March 20, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the resolution "On Banks and Banking Activity", which became Law on May 1. The resolution declared ownership by the Ukrainian SSR of the Ukrainian Republican Bank of the State Bank of the USSR (later National Bank of Ukraine), the Ukrainian Republican Bank of the State Commercial Industrial-Constructional Bank of the USSR "Ukrprombudbank", the Ukrainian Republican Bank of the Savings Bank of the USSR, and the Ukrainian Republican Bank of the ForeignEconomBank of the USSR as well as the Ukrainian Republican Department of Encashment of the State Bank of the USSR.

Former President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko was Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine from January 1993 to December 1999, before becoming Prime Minister. Later Serhiy Arbuzov became Prime Minister of Ukraine for a short term in 2014 after being Governor of the National Bank.

Functions

1 Ukrainian hryvnia bill
According to the Constitution of Ukraine, the main function of the National Bank is to ensure the stability of Ukraine's monetary unit. To carry this out, the National Bank fosters the stability of the banking system and, within its competence, price stability.

Due to Art.51 of the law about the National Bank of Ukraine, the NBU is accountable for its activities to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine 

The National Bank also carries out the following functions:

to determine and pursue the monetary policy in accordance with the General Principles of the Monetary Policy developed by the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine;
to issue the national currency of Ukraine on a monopoly basis and to organize its circulation;
to establish the rules of conducting banking transactions, accounting and reporting, protection of the information, funds and property for the banks and other financial and credit institutions;
to organize and to provide the methodological support to the system of the monetary, crediting and banking statistical information and the statistics of the balance of payments;
to determine the areas of the development of modern electronic banking technologies, to establish, co-ordinate and control the creation of electronic means of payment, payment system, banking automation and the banking information protection facilities;
to exercise the banking regulation and supervision;
to keep a Register of banks, their branch and representative offices, currency exchanges and financial and credit institutions, to license banking business and transactions, if provided for by the laws;.
to compile, analyze and forecast the balance of payments;
to represent Ukraine's interests in central banks of other states, international banks and other crediting institutions, where the cooperation takes place at the level of central banks;
to exercise the currency regulation with the competence to be defined by a special law, to determine the procedure of effecting payments in the foreign currency, to organise and exercise the currency control over the commercial banks and other credit institutions which are in possession of a National Bank's license for the transactions with currency values;
to ensure the accumulation and custody of the gold and currency reserves and the conduction of transactions with them and the banking metals;
to analyze the status of the monetary, crediting, financial, pricing and currency relations;
to organize the collection and transportation of bank notes, coins and other values;
to implement the national policy of the protection of state secrets within the system of the National Bank;
to take part in the training of personnel for Ukraine's banking system;
to exercise other functions in the monetary and crediting sphere within its competence defined by the law.

Due to information of the National Bank of Ukraine the tenure of the council expired at 10.09.2015. A new composition of the council hasnt been appointed till now. Its unknown, who carries out the obligations of the council due to art.9 of the law about the national bank (supervision of the board, internal audit etc.) actually.

Due to the recent economical crisis the number of the registered banks decreased sharply to actually 111 (due to the state depositors guarantee fund 31.03.2016,). The National Bank of Ukraine announced a target of approximately 80-100 banks at the market. There are state-owned banks like Oshadny,Ukrexim or Ukrgas, but the fast majority of banks is in private property. Largest banks by assets are the Privatbank (PrivatGroup,Dnipro) and the state savings "Oshadnybank". All registered banks are member of the Deposit Guarantee Funds, which guarantees deposits up to 200.000 UAH per person and bank in case of insolvency. The Oshadnybank is excluded from this fund, cause the Republic of Ukraine guarantees their deposits directly. Banks are divided by the National Bank into four categories depending on their capitals (for intensity of banking supervision). There are a couple of big banks owned through off-shore companies. However, since 2016 all bank owner-structures had to be published till the last physical person to the National Bank of Ukraine to enforce the Anti-money-laundring and -tax-evasion-policy of the NBU. Foreign banking is still dominated from the Russian Federation (Sberbank, VTB, Alfa, Prominvest), while the austrian Raiffeisen Aval Bank continues to stay strong. Per 01.04.2016 private households are holding f.e. 375,2 Mrd.UAH deposits in ukrainian banks 

In October 2013, the National Bank of Ukraine has introduced a new commemorative silver coin on the 70th anniversary of the Melitopol offensive against German troops and the liberation of the city of Melitopol on October 23, 1943. The new coin is called "The Breakthrough of Soviet Troops Against the German Defense Line Wotan and liberation of Melitopol" and each of the 30,000 limited edition coins is worth $5.

Beside this the National Bank of Ukraine offers a broad scale of commemorative and bullion coins and numismatic products, which are being sold primarily (2/3 of production) by the branches of NBU and 1/3 by state banks (Oshadnybank and Ukrgasbank) 

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