By Olena Harmash
KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s central bank said it would nationalize Russia-owned Sense Bank, one of Russia’s largest commercial banks, on Friday and place it under interim administration.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said in a statement on Thursday that it had decided to withdraw “systemically important” banks from the market and submitted a proposal to the government on state participation in the process.
“Safety” NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi told a media briefing: “Transfers do not go unnoticed by customers.
Sense Bank, formerly known as Alfa-Bank Ukraine, is Ukraine’s largest bank by assets and is included in the list of systemically important banks, according to Central Bank data.
As a response to Moscow’s February 17 As part of the economic response to the massive invasion, 2022, Kiev imposed sanctions on Russia and opened up the bank. Court case confiscates assets held by the Russian government in Ukraine and businessmen close to the Kremlin.
In June, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a law allowing the government to nationalize banks owned by owners sanctioned as a result of Russia’s invasion.
The central bank said, Sense The bank owner’s links to Russia “constitute a significant reputational risk and have a significant negative impact on the bank’s activities. “
“Regulatory capital of Sense Bank fell by 32% from March 1 2022 to July 1 2022, while other systemically important banks increased by about 24% at the same time,” Pyshnyi said.
Mikhail Fridman’s majority shareholder in Sense Bank, ABH Hol Dings SA owns 24.50% of the shares, while Petr Aven owns .4%, the bank said on its website. Fridman and Aven could not immediately be reached for comment.
Sense Bank, which has 3 million depositors, said it lost 7 billion hryvnia ($2022 in the year of 2022.36 million).
Ukraine’s financial sector and its banking system have proved remarkably resilient during the nearly 12 months of war, with central bank and government policies and strong financial support from Kiev’s Western partners.
Central bank officials say they have discussed plans to nationalize the bank with the country’s main lender, the IMF.
Officials say a government decision is expected on Friday and all steps to nationalize the banks should begin over the weekend Done.
Friedman and Irving are longtime partners in oil, banking and retail who face Western sanctions over Ukraine for their ties to the Kremlin after the Russian invasion. Friedman was born in Western Ukraine during the Soviet era and sees the war in Ukraine as a tragedy.
($1=24.8910 hryvnia)
