Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, July 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has banned banks posting losses from issuing unsecured credits, dealing with insiders when giving new credits and guarantees, buying their own shares and buying nongovernmental securities in their own name.

The requirements are stipulated in NBU resolution No. 412 of July 22 on some issues of banks' activities during the downturn, which was sent to banks by the NBU on Tuesday and made available to Interfax-Ukraine.

The resolution says that unprofitable banks also are banned from paying on their loan securities, apart from in cases when they are paid back at a price lower than 50% of their face value and the payment does not lead to a considerable worsening of a bank's liquidity.

In addition, the NBU obliged unprofitable banks' management bodies to stop the payment of dividends to their shareholders or the distribution of capital in any other form, as well as stop the payment of bonuses and other premiums to bank employees.

The heads of loss-making banks are obliged to inform the department of banking regulation and surveillance on the allocation of funds for sponsorship, not to increase capital investment and non-material assets, not to spend on consultation services of a financial character and not to open new branches.

"The resolution takes effect from the moment it is signed, and is in effect until the NBU issues a separate decision," reads the document.

The department of the banking regulation and surveillance at the NBU was instructed to oversee the observation of the requirements by unprofitable banks and in case of the banks' unwillingness to urgently implement the tasks set by the NBU, imposing measures on them, including the introduction of temporary administrations, forced reorganization, or the cancellation of licenses.

The document says that the resolution aims to provide favorable conditions for the resumption of the stable activities of banks in the financial and economic crisis period and the increase of banks' capitalization level.

As of April 1, 2009, there were 41 unprofitable banks in Ukraine, while a total of 182 banks were operating.

Before the start of 2011, the department is banned from imposing measures on banks if their losses are linked with the formation of reserves to reimburse possible losses on credit transactions under credit agreements signed before October 1, 2009, or on restructured credits.

The measures would not be imposed on banks that saw the share of bad assets in their total assets grow due to a fall in the total sum of assets, as long as the banks formed reserves and submitted a detailed monthly plan on measures aimed at cutting these troubled assets.