​The Ministry of Finance is concerned over today’s results of the consideration of the draft laws No. 8099 and No. 7180 at the Parliament of Ukraine

The draft law No. 8099 which was prepared by the Ministry of Finance is aimed to continue the implementation of mid-term budget planning in Ukraine on the permanent basis and at all levels of the budget system. It is an extremely important step in the budget reform improving the transparency, quality and effectiveness of the budget funds and making the budget policy more predictable. This is especially important in the year preceding the elections.

The draft law No. 7180 - prepared by the Ministry of Finance jointly with experts of the IMF, World Bank, EBRD and the International Financial Corporation – was supported by the Government and the responsible Parliament’s committee. It paves the way for the establishment of professional supervisory boards at the Oshchadbank and Ukreximbank mostly consisting of independent specialists. Both banks have been operating without supervisory boards for a long time. Professional supervisory boards prevent excessive political influence on state-owned banks as well as fosters the engagement of high-class management professionals and the further development of banks.

Without operable supervisory boards consisting of independent professionals, it is impossible to implement the strategy of state-owned banks aimed to support financial stability, to ensure fair competition as well as to compensate investments made by the states and to significantly reduce the state’s share in the banking sector.

The utmost importance of these draft laws for the budget reform and the reform of the state banking sector requires a consensus for their adoption and poses the joint responsibility of the Government and the Parliament.