Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE: SETTING PRICES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY ILLEGAL

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) condemns the decisions of businesses and people in the current difficult situation to set prices for goods and services in foreign currencies, in particular in dollars or euros.
“Setting prices in Ukraine in foreign currency is illegal. Such actions are not only immoral in a war, but are also a direct violation of Ukrainian legislation,” the National Bank said in a statement on Thursday.
The NBU recalled that the hryvnia as a national currency is the only legal tender on the territory of Ukraine and must be accepted by all individuals and legal entities without any restrictions throughout the country and for all types of payments in accordance with Article 35 of the Law “On the National Bank of Ukraine”.
The regulator clarified that, in particular, he became aware of cases of setting prices for rental housing in euros in Ukraine, which violates the law.

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NBU OPENS HUMANITARIAN PURPOSES ACCOUNT

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has opened a current account for humanitarian purposes to help Ukrainians affected by Russian aggression, the press service of the regulator said on Tuesday.
According to the report, the account is meant for charity contributions from Ukraine and from abroad.
“To streamline the inflows of funds as humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by the war, the NBU has opened an account for the Ministry of Social Policy to accumulate charitable contributions for social needs in wartime,” the press service said, citing Governor of the National Bank Kyrylo Shevchenko.
He said that unlike the special account that has been opened to finance the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, money from this account will be used to help those hardest-hit by the war with Russia.
For foreign currency remittances:
UA823000010000032302338301027 currencies USD, EUR, GBP
For EUR remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUAUAUXXXX
IBAN DE05504000005040040066
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 32302338301027
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK, Frankfurt
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: MARKDEFF
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: Wilhelm-Epstein-Strasse 14, 60431 Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
For USD remittances:
BENEFICIARY: National Bank of Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St., Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 400807238
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, New York
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASUS33
ABA 0210 0002 1
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
PURPOSE OF PAYMENT: for crediting account 32302338301027
For GBP remittances:
BENEFICIARY/RECIPIENT NAME: National Bank of Ukraine
SORT CODE: 60-92-42
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0080033041
GB52CHAS60924280033041
REFERENCE FOR CREDITING ACCOUNT: 32302338301027
BENEFICIARY BIC: NBUA UA UX
BENEFICIARY ADDRESS: 9 Instytutska St., Kyiv, 01601, Ukraine
BENEFICIARY BANK NAME: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA, London
BENEFICIARY BANK BIC: CHASGB2L
BENEFICIARY BANK ADDRESS: 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AJ, UK

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NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE BUYS $600 MLN TO STABILIZE UKRAINIAN CURRENCY

Since the stabilization of the foreign exchange market, the National Bank has bought $600 million, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko said.
“The National Bank is now buying funds (from the foreign exchange market), has already bought $600 million. We can state that the panic in the foreign exchange market has passed,” she said at a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Kharkiv.
At the same time, she indicated that by the end of 2022 inflation is expected to stabilize and reach the target of 5%.

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INSURANCE MANAGEMENT DOES NOT NEED REGULATOR APPROVAL BEFORE TERM EXPIRES – NBU

Since January 2022, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been coordinating the positions of the chairman of the board (sole executive body), members of the board, chief accountant, chairman and members of the supervisory board of insurance companies from January 2022 in accordance with license terms, the regulator has told Interfax-Ukraine.
“Persons in these positions do not require the appropriate approval before the expiration of their tenure,” the NBU said in a statement.
In addition, the law on insurance from January 1, 2024 introduces separate requirements for the management of the insurer, namely the chairman of the supervisory board, his deputies and members of the supervisory board, the chairman of the board (director general), his deputies and members of the board (directorate), chief accountant. In relation to these persons, as well as the chief risk manager, chief compliance manager, chief internal auditor and responsible actuary of the insurer, qualification requirements for business reputation and professional suitability are established. In respect of the independent director of the insurer, independence requirements are also introduced. Qualification requirements will be determined at the level of the normative legal act of the NBU.
The chief risk manager, chief compliance manager, chief internal auditor, responsible actuary, as well as individual heads of the insurer – the chairman of the board (director general), chief accountant, chairman and members of the supervisory board – will take office after receiving the approval of the National Bank. With regard to other managers, insurers will be able to either obtain approval before they are appointed/elected to a position, or submit documents for approval to the NBU within one month after appointment/election to the position.
In addition, the law on insurance introduces requirements for the collective suitability of the supervisory board and collegiate executive body of the insurer, which will also be effective from January 1, 2024. Collective suitability means that the members of the supervisory board or executive body have the general/cumulative knowledge, skills, professional and managerial experience to the extent necessary to understand all aspects of the insurer’s activities, adequately assess risks, make informed decisions, etc.
The National Bank will establish the requirements and procedure for assessing the collective suitability of the supervisory board and the executive body. The NBU will carry out an appropriate assessment taking into account the size of the insurer, the volumes and types of operations carried out by it, the organizational structure, the risk profile, etc. The regulator also determines the existence of collective suitability when considering the package of documents for obtaining a license. Based on the results of such an assessment, the National Bank will have the right to demand changes in the personal composition of the supervisory board or the executive body.

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NBU ALLOWES THE MAIN SHAREHOLDER OF VUSO TO ACQUIRE 99.6% OF THE INSURER ASKA

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on December 22, 2021 allowed Altituda closed non-diversified venture corporate investment fund on behalf of, in the interests and at the expense of which PrJSC AMC Altera Asset Management operates, to directly acquire 99.593% of shares of PrJSC Ukrainian Joint-Stock Insurance Company ASKA (Zaporizhia), according to the website of the central bank.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, as of the third quarter of 2021, Altituda owns 66.0075% of the shares of PrJSC Insurance Company VUSO (Kyiv).
As reported at the end of November 2021, SCM investment company of Rinat Akhmetov announced that it had reached preliminary agreements on the sale of ASKA to VUSO insurance company. The completion of the transaction and the transfer of the corporate rights of ASKA to the buyer must be carried out after all procedures stipulated by the law, obtaining permits and approvals from the NBU.
On December 22, 2021, the NBU decided to cancel 34 licenses for insurance issued to ASKA on the basis of its application, except for the license for compulsory insurance of civil liability of land vehicle owners (OSAGO).
The company was engaged mainly in property types of insurance: property insurance, that against fire risks and risks of natural disasters, cargo and luggage and financial risks.
According to the statements presented by ASKA for the nine months of 2021, the volume of insurance premiums amounted to UAH 853.75 million, the value of assets – UAH 501.1 million, the market share in insurance reserves – 2.55%.
At the same time, the company announced the presence of unfulfilled (overdue) obligations to policyholders (beneficiaries) and valid insurance contracts. At the same time, it provided information on the availability of formed insurance reserves.
ASKA is the first private insurance company that appeared in independent Ukraine, has been operating for over 30 years. It is part of the portfolio of the international investment company SCM.

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NBU PROVIDES INSPECTIONS IN SIX OVERSIGHT ENTITIES

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in 2022 will conduct scheduled inspections at six oversight objects to ensure that they comply with the requirements of the legislation on the activities of payment systems in Ukraine, the press service of the regulator said on Wednesday.
According to the report, in the first quarter the regulator will check AC DC Processing LLC and FC Feniks LLC, in the second quarter – Platiservice LLC, in the third quarter – PJSC Bank Familny, and in the fourth quarter – Ukrainian Payment system LLC and FC Kontraktovy Dim LLC.

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