Ostensibly, the Central Bank shakeup was driven by Zelenskiy’s desire for lower interest rates and a cheaper currency. In the last year of Yakiv Smoliy as Governor, the prime rate dropped from 18% to 6%. The hryvnia now trades at 28.3 to the dollar, its weakest level in almost three years. Ash warns: “A less generous interpretation is that the NBU Council is being driven by a different agenda with oligarchic interests represented therein trying to clear out the former Gontareva/Smoliy teams as they want a different agenda on banking reforms – indeed, looking to reverse the reforms enacted from 2015-2020, with former owners being compensated for the loss of their failed banks.”
Ostensibly, the Central Bank shakeup was driven by Zelenskiy’s desire for lower interest rates and a cheaper currency.
