Facebook Pixel

Zelenskyy wants to get rid of the NBU Governor, Yermak is already looking for a candidate to replace—Bloomberg

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has planned to remove Kyrylo Shevchenko from the position of National Bank Governor. As it became known to Bloomberg from three sources, the Head of State was not satisfied with the work of the NBU Governor, namely his relationship with the senior management of the institution that had caused a wave of resignations. These events at the state's central bank alarmed Western donors, including the IMF.

One of the agency’s interlocutors added that before Shevchenko's dismissal, Zelensky needed to find him a replacement. The Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak is responsible for selecting a suitable candidate. However, when this process will come to an end is still unknown.

Zelenskyy’s administration called this information "rumors." The NBU noted that Shevchenko had many tasks ahead and his team continued to work on their implementation.

Bloomberg emphasizes that Zelenskyy's plans for Shevchenko became known after the IMF mission had assessed the efforts of the Ukrainian side to unfreeze the $5 billion aid program. One of the conditions, as we know, is the independence of the NBU.

Context. In June 2020, the IMF approved a Stand-By program for Kyiv with a total amount of about $5 billion, immediately allocating the first tranche of financing in the amount of $2.1 billion. Four reviews of the program conditions implementation were drawn to allocate the other four tranches. Subsequently, the schedule was disrupted, and lending was suspended.

Recently it became known that a team of IMF staff and representatives of Ukraine reached a staff-level agreement (SLA) on the first viewing of the Stand-By financing program, and that provides the possibility of obtaining a loan for $700 million.

Thank 🎉