In 2022, Ukrainians faced a lot of challenges. In particular, people's attention was focused on the state of the financial system and its ability to overcome difficulties. However, banks, like all of Ukraine, have shown their stability since February 24.
How the financial sector is holding up in today's conditions and what depositors need to know in case their bank goes bankrupt – about this and not only Channel 24 journalists talked with Svetlana Rekrut, Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals.
< em>According to the official information of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, Ukrainians now keep almost a trillion hryvnias in banks. And this amount, despite the war, is constantly growing. Is this really so, because, unfortunately, Ukrainians have definitely not become richer this year?
You are right, the balances of individuals' bank accounts are growing. Since the beginning of 2022, they have increased by almost 20%. That is, the funds of individuals as of December 1 amounted to 993 billion hryvnia.
This trend is caused by several factors. First of all, people understand that keeping funds in a bank is safer than under a pillow or mattress. Secondly, the war and active hostilities have increasingly forced people and businesses to choose non-cash payments.
Ukrainians more often choose cashless payments during the war/Photo by Pexels
Also a big role in this was played by the fact that in April, at the initiative of the President, a bill was adopted, which, for the period of martial law and within three months after its completion, introduces a rule on full reimbursement of funds to depositors of individuals. That is, no matter how much you keep in your account, if the bank suddenly goes bankrupt, the state represented by the Deposit Guarantee Fund will compensate you for everything to the penny, including accrued interest. People can be sure that their funds are safe.
Please tell us more about the procedure for depositors to receive funds after a bank is declared insolvent? What should the contributor do in this case?
Absolutely nothing needs to be done. You should wait for the decision to start the payment of guaranteed compensation. It is accepted by the Fund no later than 20 business days after the bank went bankrupt, posted on the Fund's website, on the bank's website, in the media. After that, you need to contact one of our agent banks. Their list can be found on the website of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.
Just with your passport and identification code, go to any branch of your chosen agent bank and receive your funds. The fund has an automated payout system, so no amounts need to be registered or verified. Just come and get money.
If it so happened that a person is abroad or does not have the opportunity to physically come to a bank branch, then you can use the online payment service. This option was introduced by the Foundation after the start of a full-scale war so that people would not have restrictions on receiving their funds even with full-scale hostilities.
On the second day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a decision was made liquidate two Russian banks – Sberbank and Prominvestbank. What happened to their assets?
Yes, it was the second day of a full-scale war, we remember it very well. Under the whistle of bullets and shelling, we began to eliminate them. Now the process is in the active phase. The Fund continues to settle with depositors and has begun the procedure for selling assets and settling with their creditors.
We receive funds for paying bank creditors from working with assets, and these are loans, real estate, fixed assets – they are sold on open auctions in the Prozorro system. Sales, and the proceeds are returned to the creditors of these banks.
In addition, in part of the assets, it was decided to forcibly seize them in favor of the state. And the other day we ensured their transfer to a special fund of the state budget.
Can you declassify how much money was returned to the budget due to the liquidation of Russian banks?
Of course, this is about 17 billion hryvnia. This is what has already been transferred to the state. A number of other assets will be transferred to the country in the near future.
If we talk about the assets of these banks, is there anyone who wants to buy them during the war?
Yes. It was a rather pleasant surprise, because if there is demand, it means that investors believe in Ukraine. After the outbreak of a full-scale war, we not only did not see a decrease in demand for bank assets put up for sale, but often even more than before the war. We are talking primarily about real estate and not only about Kyiv, but also about the regions.
Selling prices were another good news. Sometimes the results of the auctions we see the pre-war cost per square meter, and sometimes even higher.
Why is the price rising? This is because there are a lot of people who want to buy assets. Sometimes we have 5, 6, or even up to 10 participants in the auction competing with each other, and therefore the price increases during the auction.
Currently, sales are very active and since the beginning of a full-scale war, their volume has amounted to almost 1.5 billion hryvnia, which is quite a significant indicator.
There are a lot of people who want to buy assets/Photo by Pexels
Are there any criteria for bidders to ensure that these assets are in safe hands?
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When it comes to selling real estate, there are no restrictions, but for loans, they cannot be bought by the borrower or his guarantor. And in no case can the buyer be Russia or a person associated with the aggressor state.
So, it is quite clear that Ukrainian depositors can not only not worry about their savings in banks, but also participate in online trading and buy assets of bankrupt financial institutions. And I would like to end the interview with an understanding of the state of our financial sector as a whole during the war. After all, the Russians are attacking us with missiles, and hackers are attacking the banking system of Ukraine. How does it stand up?
Before the full-scale war, the banking system and the Deposit Guarantee Fund survived the test of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Then everyone was forced to go online and significantly strengthen their information protection. We can say that the coronavirus crisis helped us adapt to this full-scale war.
Now we see that bank branches are working, ATMs are working, the banking system has survived. And this is again due to the fact that we have accumulated enough capital and financial strength to actually survive.
Interview with Svetlana Rekrut: watch the video
