State bank Ukreximbank is carrying out non-market policies in relation to state bank Oschadbank (both based in Kyiv) under government pressure, which is leading to increased risks at these financial establishments, Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko said on Thursday at a meeting in Kyiv on economic issues.
“All of the recapitalization of Ukreximbank and Oschadbank conducted
over two days was directed at financing the budget deficit… instead of
a policy of recovery we’re continuing [to see] a policy of disruption,”
he said.
The president drew attention to the issue of a loan to Naftogaz
Ukrainy: having received UAH 17 billion in the scope of the state
program on capitalization, Oschadbank then gave a UAH 22 billion credit
to Naftogaz Ukrainy, which exceeded by four times the acceptable level
of risk with a single borrower.
At the same time, Yuschenko noted both the considerable worsening of
the quality of Oschadbank’s credit profile, as Naftogaz Ukrainy has
financial difficulties, and the state budget deficit of UAH 33 billion
in the current year.
