OREANDA-NEWS. The National Bank of Ukraine hosted a regular meeting with CEOs of the 40 largest Ukrainian banks. The NBU's management team and bankers contemplated the issues related to the operation of the money market and banking system amid the crisis.

Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Valeriia Gontareva informed the meeting participants about the launch of a fundamental reorganization of the regulator on December 1, 2014, and introduced the newly appointed heads of the structural subdivisions of the National Bank. "Most of them are well-known to the market participants," she said, adding that the presentation of the new structure of the National Bank would take place the following week.

First Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Oleksandr Pysaruk said that the National Bank, in cooperation with professional banking associations, provides details on how the procedure governing the activities of Ukrainian banks during the conduct of anti-terrorist operation in Donbas and the occupation of the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is applied. He informed the meeting participants that the proposals put forward by the Independent Association of Ukrainian Banks were currently being examined, the regulator and banking community would formulate a coordinated position on this issue at the next regular meeting scheduled to take place in a week.

With regard to the situation in the foreign exchange market, the National Bank has allowed the key market participants to make discretionary decisions on determining the equilibrium exchange rate. "Daily auctions conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine are solely intended to determine the exchange rate benchmark rather than meet the demand for foreign exchange. Banks are hit hard by an increase in the exchange rate," Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine reiterated and reminded bankers about the administrative instruments available to the National Bank that the regulator would put in place if the market experienced undue exchange rate pressure. Valeriia Gontareva also said that Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC had made a payment of USD 400 million in the previous week, which would enable Ukraine to purchase 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas," she emphasized.

In addition, Valeriia Gontareva noted that the regulator remained involved in efforts to regulate the banking system liquidity. In particular, she unveiled plans to hold a liquidity-providing tender this week with a maturity of 45 days at a fixed interest rate of 19.5 %. "Balances held in bank correspondent accounts should be sufficient to enable banks to carry out transactions, but they should not be excessive so as not to put pressure on the foreign exchange market," she said.