Privatization of state-owned banks may be the key to investment in Ukraine. But first, a general strategy for the development of state-owned banks must be developed. This was stated by the Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshny, RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to his Facebook post.
Pyshny reported that yesterday he met with the World Bank’s Regional Director for Eastern Europe, Bob Som. According to him, they had a “deep and meaningful conversation” about the context in which Ukraine continues to live, as well as about the plans and steps necessary to ensure the country’s rapid economic recovery.
“Another important issue of the conversation is the privatization of state-owned banks. I agree with Mr. Som that the start of privatization will give a positive signal to investors,” Pyshny said.
At the same time, he believes that such a step should be part of the general strategy for the development of state-owned banks.
“We need to develop such a strategy together with the government and stakeholders to ensure a conceptual vision for the development of the state banking sector of Ukraine,” the NBU chairman added.
State-owned banks
Let us recall that the state currently owns seven banks out of 60. These are PrivatBank, Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, Ukrgasbank, Sense Bank, Motor-Bank, and the First Investment Bank. According to the NBU, 65.7% of the profit for the first quarter of 2025 was generated by state-owned banks. In the first quarter, the share of net assets of state-owned banks remained at 53.3%. The share of state-owned banks in the population’s funds is 62.9%. First Deputy Chairman of the NBU Kateryna Rozhkova stated that the first candidates for sale are the state-owned Ukrgasbank and Sense Bank. But, according to her, the sale procedure is a long process.
