Ukraine approves new financial sector development strategy - Finance Ministry

MOSCOW. Aug 29 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry, the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market and the Deposit Guarantee Fund approved a new financial sector development strategy at a meeting on August 19, Ukrainian media said with the reference to the Finance Ministry's website.

"The document sets current priorities and development goals of the financial sector. [...] Its elaboration is envisaged by the Economic and Financial Policy Memorandum between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund," the ministry said.

The statement indicates that the strategy for the period until 2025 envisages joint work of the financial sector regulators, the Finance Ministry and the Deposit Guarantee Fund, aimed to achieve such strategic objectives as macroeconomic and financial stability, the financial system's contribution to national recovery, modern financial services, and institutional capacities of the regulators and the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

At the same time, the strategy is open-ended and the measures it envisages are conditionally divided into short-term ones, which will be updated and added, aimed at ensuring stability, preventing deterioration of the situation in the financial sector and the economy as a whole, as well as medium-term measures that will form the basis for future economic recovery and growth.

The document emphasizes the implementation of European laws and the best world practices in the field of regulation and oversight of the financial sector and the settlement of such issues as insolvency and withdrawal of members of financial institutions from the market.

"The regime of an internal market with the European Union in the field of financial services is a focal point, considering that progress towards the Ukrainian entry into the European Union is the definite common priority of everyone involved in the implementation of the strategy," the ministry said.

Short-term targets are set for monitoring the implementation of the strategy. No long-term targets will be set for now, as the achievement of strategic objectives depends on the emergence of macroeconomic and other conditions, the timing of which cannot be reliably predicted.