Kyrylo Shevchenko brings a better governance to the National Bank of Ukraine

On July 16, 2020, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appointed Kyrylo Shevchenko Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

Several candidates were considered for this position, but the choice fell on the best of them. Indeed, Mr. Shevchenko is a professional of the highest class, a self made person, for whom only something on the scale of the financial system of the entire country can be considered a professional challenge.

The NBU will definitely benefit from his arrival to the office, as everything that Mr. Shevchenko deals with is doomed to success. His entire career path is proof of this.

Kharkiv National University of Economics, where Kyrylo studied, always had the superb foundation for grooming specialists in the area of economics. NBU Governor-to-be was one of them. Having obtained the degree in accounting and analysis of entrepreneurial activity, Kyrylo (Kirill) came to work at the Kharkiv branch of the Ukrainian Credit Bank. That is how his triumphant path to the very top of the banking system has started.

In 1995, he transferred to the Kharkiv branch of Aval Bank, where he became the chief economist. This was followed by his transfer to the Finance and Credit bank. Back then, the bank was among the hundreds of small national banks. Most of these banks seem to have disappeared, leaving no trace in memory; however, by 2006, with Mr. Shevchenko in the board, it was ranked among the top 10 biggest banks in Ukraine.

In 2006 Kyrylo (Kirill) Shevchenko became the head of the State Mortgage Institution. It was on Kyrylo’s initiative that this organization issued the government-guaranteed bonds. This was the first such event in the history of the Ukrainian stock market.

In 2009 he became an adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine and a member of the supervisory board at Ukrgasbank right after its nationalization. It should be noted that among all nationalized banks, a few continue their operations afterward. However, there are some exceptions and Ukrgasbank under Mr. Shevchenko was one of them.

In 2010, Kyrylo (Kirill) bought a small bank called Terra. In two years, Terra was in the TOP 6 banks that showed the biggest growth.

Until the fall of 2014, Mr. Shevchenko worked as an adviser to the chairman of the board of Oschadbank, the country’s second-largest bank. In the same year, Oschadbank became one of the 10 largest banks of Western and Central Europe.

Later, he transferred to Ukrgasbank, which he and his team managed to rescue. In 2015, he acquired the post of the chairman of the board at this bank; it was the first time in the history of Ukraine when the head of the bank was appointed on a competitive basis. Kyrylo Shevchenko won a brilliant victory in that competition.

His management of Ukrgasbank was just as outstanding. This is what deprived his competitors for the post of the National Bank Governor of any chances and convinced the country's top leadership, headed by President Zelenskyy, that the new Governor must be nobody except him!

Now the National Bank of Ukraine has completely passed under the leadership of Kyrylo Shevchenko. Such a wise decision to appoint him to the post of the Governor of the country's main financial institution was very timely. The country is in a difficult financial condition. The coronavirus and the crisis it provoked has hit the financial system hard. Ukraine has a large budget gap and the issue of emission is more acute than ever. Oligarch Igor Kolomoisky is demanding compensation from the state for the nationalized PrivatBank and the NBU Governor is on the front line for state money in the fight against the interests of the oligarch. There are also political factors that do not depend on the NBU leadership, for example, the constitutional crisis or government disagreements in the implementation of the terms of the Memorandum between Ukraine and the IMF.

Such problems could be a challenge for the most prominent bankers, but persistence in overcoming them is no longer only a matter of professionalism, but also of personal qualities. In his approach to work, Kyrylo (Kirill) relies on those qualities that helped him climb more than one peak, literally.

Elbrus, Kazbek, Kilimanjaro, and Ararat are among the ascents made by Mr Shevchenko. Mountaineering is his passion. The most important aspects of this sport are persistence, the will to pursue a goal, and the ability to work as a team. It can be said his hobbies are yet another facet of his character that always tries to reach the peak in everything.

Based on this, the results of the masterful management of the National Bank is just a matter of time. The first successes are already clearly visible. Kyrylo Shevchenko, who is fluent in English, has recently conducted negotiations with the IMF, the success of which has been widely criticized by Ukrainian and foreign experts, who waited in distrust for the return of the Ukrainian delegation from Washington. They were wrong. “Personally, I am an optimist in this matter - in Ukraine there is every chance of receiving an IMF mission by the end of this year,” NBU Governor shared with the Voice of America.

It is fair to say that the success of negotiations with the IMF depends not only on the will of the Ukrainian side, since in relations with Ukraine the IMF acts within the framework of a certain strategy. However, after Ukraine receives the IMF tranche, critics will certainly diminish the desire to question the effectiveness of Kyrylo Shevchenko as the National Bank Governor.

The policy of the National Bank remains unchanged, banking supervision will be the same strict, and the independence of the regulator will not be shaken by anyone. This is assured by the newly appointed Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine and there is no reason not to trust him.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes