NBU governor: PrivatBank will soon be put up for sale

Ukrainian authorities plan to put PrivatBank, which was nationalized in 2016, up for sale soon.

“Under our plans, PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest banking asset, will soon be put up for sale. We believe that the privatization of PrivatBank — which holds 20% of the Ukrainian banking market — will draw the interest of the most prestigious international investors, including from the US and the EU,” Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Kyrylo Shevchenko said in an interview with GlobalCapital.

According to him, the Ukrainian banking sector holds significant potential for international investors. “In the near future, we hope that international banking groups will take equity in Ukrainian state-owned banks,” the NBU governor noted.

Shevchenko added that about 100 court processes were ongoing now around PrivatBank, noting “it is an exceptionally complex matter.”

At the same time, he noted that Ukraine aimed to resolve the situation with PrivatBank by the end of this year. “We hope that the court cases will have been resolved and we will be able to focus solely on recovering assets,” the banker said.

According to his forecasts, the state’s share of the banking market will fall from 55% to 25% in five years. “This process will assist the Ukrainian banking system in gaining greater independence and promote the banks’ operation according to market-driven principles,” Shevchenko said.

As a reminder, PrivatBank was nationalized in December 2016. On April 18, 2019, the Kyiv District Administrative Court declared the nationalization of PrivatBank illegal. The NBU, the Ministry of Finance and PrivatBank lodged an appeal against this ruling.