The head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Kirill Shevchenko, submitted his resignation to the President of Ukraine on Tuesday, the NBU said in a statement.
“For reasons related to health, which I cannot ignore in the future, I made a difficult decision for myself. I am leaving the post of head of the NBU. I have asked the President of Ukraine to accept my resignation,” Shevchenko is quoted as saying.
He thanked the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky for the trust shown and joint work for the benefit of the state in peacetime and wartime, as well as the NBU team and colleagues from all over the financial market.
“From the first days at the NBU, I was, first of all, an anti-crisis manager and fulfilled my mission: I ensured the smooth operation of the financial system in the extremely difficult time of a full-scale war. The war became another difficult test for our team and me personally – and we passed it with dignity,” – said the head of the NBU.
According to him, the National Bank managed to ensure the smooth operation of the financial system, prevent panic in the foreign exchange market, stop a large-scale outflow of capital in order to protect reserves, keep inflation at an adequate level and “support the state budget, understanding the difficulties in attracting funds during the war.”
“Today, the NBU is indeed stronger than ever in its ability to meet challenges and overcome crises, it is worthy of being tested by war. And it retains its ability to be the basis of post-war economic recovery and direct the entire financial sector to this,” Shevchenko stressed.
He said he was handing over the banking system to a strong, capitalized, resilient banking system for those who would come after him.
“Until the relevant decisions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the dismissal and appointment of the head of the National Bank are made, the Board of the National Bank will continue to perform its functions and manage the activities of the National Bank in its current composition,” the message says.
As reported, the Rada appointed Shevchenko head of the NBU on July 16, 2020, before that he was the head of the board of the state-owned Ukrgasbank.
Earlier, on July 1, 2020, the head of the NBU, Yakov Smoliy, resigned due to political pressure.
