Reform Watch
OP-ED
Andrei Kirilenko: National Bank of Ukraine must regain its independence
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Ukraine’s central bank, is no longer in control of the monetary and financial situation in the country. The Ukrainian currency — the hryvnia — has lost 19 percent of its value in the last five weeks. Consumer prices are nearly 22 percent higher than a year ago. The banking system is rapidly becoming insolvent: More than half of all bank loans are deemed to be non-performing, while both domestic and foreign deposits needed to fund these loans have been leaving the banks.