Shevchenko promises no risk to NBU independence

The independence of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU)
is under no threat, its head Kyrylo Shevchenko wrote in his blog on Sept. 18,
responding to a Sept. 16 tweet by the G7 ambassadors to Ukraine. The
ambassadors “underscore Ukraine must demonstrate political will to protect
independence of the NBU and integrity” of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions,
the tweet said. 

“Today, it is simply impossible to exercise control
over the NBU,” Shevchenko assured the public. He added, “All important
decisions are approved collectively after a comprehensive discussion … You will
not see a U-turn in the NBU’s policy.” Recall, Shevchenko was appointed to the
position of NBU governor in July, after the previous governor Yakiv Smoliy
resigned complaining about political pressure.

Alexander Paraschiy: Between the
possible reversion of reforms of the National Bank or the anti-corruption
framework, the former is at lesser risk, so far. At least, the partially
renewed NBU board has not made any sharp move that could imply the loss of its
independence to politicians. Instead, all the eyes of Ukraine’s Western financial
partners are on the threats to the anti-corruption bodies.

Rightfully so. The first two links of the
anti-corruption chain, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the
Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), are under attack as
courts and lawmakers have questioned the legitimacy of NABU
and its director, while SAP
has recently lost its head and the
newly created commission to elect a new head recently received personalities with allegedly questionable integrity.

What’s certain at this point is that the emerged
uncertainty will result in delayed official support for Ukraine from IFIs for
at least a couple of months.