NBU installs acting chief at Prominvestbank

The National Bank of Ukraine announced yesterday it selected Volodymyr Krotyuk to temporarily head Prominvestbank, Ukraine’s sixth largest bank by assets. The NBU also put a six-month ban on demands from creditors to the bank, as part of its campaign to restore its financial stability. The NBU said last week it would extend Prominvestbank a UAH 5 bln (USD ~1 bln) credit line, following a run by depositors concerned about the bank’s financial position; UAH 1 bln (USD ~203 mln) has already been given to the bank. This morning Interfax reported that Krotyuk requested the NBU grant Prominvestbank another UAH 2 bln (USD ~407 mln) tranche. Both the NBU and Prominvestbank officials have said they believe the rumors were started to make the bank cheaper for acquisition. Alexander Viktorov: As sources in the NBU and Prominvestbank told us, deposits will be made available to Prominvestbank clients who wish to take them out. The NBU’s moves concerning Prominvestbank mirror actions it took during the Orange revolution at the end of 2004 to counteract instability caused by clients taking back their deposits.