December 23, 2016, Vol. 3, Issue 4 Banking: Part 2 Banking Crisis: What Rock-Bottom Will Feel Like Where to get the Kyiv Post? The Kyiv Post distribution list, with map, is now available online at distribution.kyivpost.com STAND SUBSCRIBE COPIES 1 YEAR 6 MONTHS 3 MONTHS (RENT PER YEAR) to the Kyiv Post 1 1,300 650 390 Feel free to contact us: +38 044 591 34 09, mail to [email protected] 20 6,000 4,000 3,000 or order at kyivpost.com 50 1,200 8,000 5,000 4,000 100 10,000 6,000 5,000 All prices are in hryvnias including VAT To get a Kyiv Post corporate subscription for your hotel or restaurant contact us at [email protected] or call us at +38 044 591 33 44 Editors’ Note Contents Opinions: Banking sector still not out of woods 4 Anders Aslund: Credit expansion still weak after fi nancial crisis This the 12th edition of the Kyiv Post's Legal Quarterly, meaning this “new” product is com- ing to the end of its third year. It was born on March 28, 2014, only a month after President 6 Brian Bonner: Why many don’t Viktor Yanukovych fl ed the EuroMaidan Revolution. want to talk about asset recovery We are grateful that it has found a place in the market. We are still experimenting with the format, but have evolved to one in which each issue takes an in-depth look at a single topic Articles and its legal ramifi cations, such as banking, customs, taxes, budget, courts, prosecutors and so on. We also are listening to those of you who want more profi les of people in Ukraine’s 8 State buys PrivatBank; taxpayer legal community. We agree. Expect these changes and more in 2017. losses will be at least $5.6 billion This is the fi rst edition in which we’ve repeated a topic: Banking. Our fi rst banking issue 15 Directory of Legal Services came out on July 1. But so much keeps happening. The biggest bombshell is the national- ization of PrivatBank, which accounts for 20 percent of the sector’s $53 billion in assets. It 20 Deposit Guarantee Fund admits has been a train wreck that will cost taxpayers at least $5.6 billion (Hr 148 billion) to bail out. poor results in recovering money How much of the losses were due to fraud, insider lending or embezzlement? We’ll prob- ably never know, given how poorly Ukraine’s politicized regulators and law enforcers work. 24 Chaotic sale of loan portfolios But National Bank of Ukraine Governor Valeria Gontareva, at a Dec. 19 press conference an- opens opportunities for fraud nouncing the nationalization, estimated related-party lending at a whopping 93 percent of PrivatBank’s loan portfolio and said the bank had not kept required reserves for nearly a 26 Top 25 banks in Ukraine by assets year. The only real questions are why authorities didn’t act earlier and what penalty will for- mer owner, billionaire oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, suffer. The chances of Kolomoisky facing any 28 Ukraine slowly warms to cashless criminal or civil penalties are non-existent, in our opinion. There's simply no history of pros- economy ecuting powerful people in this country, no matter what they do. 30 Central bank pressures small Meanwile, taxpayer losses keep mounting in Ukraine’s free-for-all banking sector. After banks, but optimism persists PrivatBank, the costs are likely to top $20 billion from the orgy of insider lending and unpaid loans. The banking sector may yet revive, but it’s way too early to say it has recovered. 32 Risks remain high for lenders in Ukraine’s agricultural sector 33 Top 10 payouts from Deposit All of our contacts are available online at http://www.kyivpost.com/contacts/ Guarantee Fund Спеціалізоване видання «Kyiv Post Legal Quarterly» видається ТОВ «Паблік-Медіа». Наклад — 7 000 прим. Розповсюджується безкоштовно. Money – what else is Матерiали, надрукованi у виданні «Kyiv Post Legal there when December 23, 2016, Vol. 3, Issue 4 Quarterly» є власнiстю видавництва, захищенi мiжнародним та українським законодавством i writing © Kyiv Post, 2016 не можуть бути вiдтворенi у будь-якiй формi без about bank- The material published in the Kyiv Post Legal Quarterly may not письмового дозволу Видавця. Думки, висловленi ing? (Top be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. у дописах можуть не завжди співпадати з поглядами видавця, який не бере на себе left) Today’s All material in the Kyiv Post Legal Quarterly is protected by вiдповiдальнiсть за наслiдки публiкацiй. cover: The Ukrainian and international laws. Засновник — ТОВ «Паблік-Медіа» National The views expressed in the Kyiv Post Legal Quarterly are not Головний редактор — Брайан Боннер Bank of necessarily the views of the publisher nor does the publisher Відповідальний за випуск — Люк Шеньє Ukraine carry any responsibility for those views. Адреса видавця та засновника співпадають: shows the Україна, м. Київ, 01004, вул. Пушкінська, 31А, Publisher: Mohammad Zahoor 6й пов. new Hr 500 Chief Executive Offi cer: Luc Chénier Реєстрацiйне свiдоцтво — note. (Bot- Chief Editor: Brian Bonner Кв № 20588-10388Р від 18.03.2014 tom left) Commercial Director: Alyona Nevmerzhytska Надруковано — ТОВ «Новий друк», Part 1 of Editors: Euan MacDonald, Olga Rudenko 02660, Київ, вулиця Магнітогорська, 1, our bank- тел.: +38 044 537 24 00 Sales Managers: Yulia Kovalenko, Yulia Krus, Vita Shvets, ing edition Elena Symonenko Замовлення № 16-2821 came out Designers: Vladyslav Zakharenko, Anton Ekle З приводу розміщення реклами звертайтесь: in July, but Project Team: Isobel Koshiw, Josh Kovensky, Denys Krasnikov, +380 44 591-77-88 losses have Yuliana Romanyshyn, Natalie Vikhrov Відповідальність за зміст реклами несе рекламодавець. grown con- Photo Editor: Pavlo Podufalov siderably Photographers: Kostyantyn Chernichkin, Volodymyr Petrov, since then. Anastasia Vlasova (UNIAN) [KYIV POST LEGAL QUARTERLY] #04/2016 3 Ukraine's banking sector resembles a piggy bank that was emptied out due to bank fraud, embezzlement and unpaid loans to insiders. The staggering costs since 2014 are expected to exceed $20 billion before recovery. (Courtesy) Credit expansion still weak after fi nancial crisis Usually commercial banking expands sharply after a major fi nancial crisis. But that is not happening in Ukraine for many reasons, including the fact that borrowers have a bad habit of not repaying their loans. he more one delves into banking in To begin with the legal base needs to be im- Ukraine, the more diffi culties emerge. proved. Creditors’ rights need to be reinforced TAs soon as one problem has been re- so that bankers can claim collaterals of debt- solved, a new one appears. The problems are ors and sell it off in case they do not pay. Half many but they can be resolved. a dozen laws need to be promulgated. The fi rst big headache is to get paid. The next problem is the judicial system, Especially big Ukrainian businessmen have a about which nothing positive can be said. By Anders Aslund habit of not paying anybody, which is a conve- The Prosecutor General’s Offi ce is famous for nient way of enrichment for many in the elite. not going after important people, while it is 4 #04/2016 [KYIV POST LEGAL QUARTERLY] Advertisement seemingly quite successful at extortion. A new real offi ce of prose- BUSINESS ADVISER cution needs to be built up with new staff. The court system seems to get worse the higher up a matter Brief review of Ukrainian gets. Therefore, serious cases are likely to lose. If contrary to ex- Anna Sisetska banking system in pectation a sensible verdict is passed, the collection services of the Counsel, 2016: is there any hope Vasil Kisil & Partners Ministry of Justice have a rather poor reputation of not collecting. to restore? Private collection services have too restricted rights, which should %"" ,+,*6+!1%"+(&+$0601"*,#(/&+"&+устч ,+1&+2"1,"Ȅ" 1"! be broadened. by the problems of 2014-2015. Hryvnia devaluation, aggression of the Russian "!"/1&,+&+(/&+"Ѹ&+02Ȅ& &"+1 ,/-,/1"$,3"/++ "+!1%"020".2"+1),00 In addition, Ukrainian banks have three big problems, their big- ,# ,+ޖ!"+ ")"!1,!"1"/&,/1&,+,#1%"+(0҃),+-,/1#,)&,ѷ))1%",3"Ҍ gest customers, their managers and their owners. Many members of *"+1&,+"!%3" 20"!+,21ޗ,4,#!"-,0&10Ѹ#/""7&+$,/0201+1&))&*&11&,+ the Ukrainian elite enjoy parliamentary immunity, which they also ,#)"+!&+$Ѹ+! 2//"+ 6ޗ2 121&,+0Ѹ4%& %%0+"$1&3")6Ȅ" 1"!1%"ޖ++ &) standing of many Ukrainian banks. Due to rising negative debts, banks had to apply toward banks. Senior members of important committees feel /"1"0&$+&ޖ +1/"0"/3"0#,/ 1&3",-"/1&,+0Ѹ4%& %&+"3&1)6%!+"$1&3" particularly immune, especially if their committee deals with eco- &*- 1,+1%")"3"),# -&1)&71&,+,#+(0ѷ +устхҌустч1%"+2*"/,#+(0 nomic matters, as most do. Quietly, a number of major Ukrainian !" /"0"!0&$+&ޖ +1)6ѷ +"/)6" "*"/устч,+)6ъш+(001&))%!+(&+$ license as compared to 180 banks in early 2014 according to the NBU. banks not managed by their owners have seen a complete change of )1%,2$%1%"0&121&,+&0+,10,%/!0&140&+устх+! "/1&+-,0&1&3"06*-- management. The rumor has it that a habit of kickbacks of 10 per- toms become apparent, it is still too soon to speak of abatement of the banking cri- cent of unjustifi ed loans developed under the years of President sis. The Ukrainian banking system is currently in the middle of a reformation stage. +" "*"/устчѸ1%""51"+!"! 2//"+ 6/"01/& 1&,+01%1%3"""+"Ȅ" - Viktor Yanukovych, who fl ed the EuroMaidan Revolution on Feb. 1&3"#,/*,/"1%+14,6"/0ѷ)1%,2$%1%"6%3"1"*-,//6+12/"Ѹ1%"&/3)&!&16 22, 2014.