Hiding behind the IMF, Hetmantsev is trying to push a bill on the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund through the Rada

The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, is trying to speed up the parliament’s consideration of draft law 13007 on the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals. The legislator hopes to convince his colleagues of the need to adopt the document next week, while information is presented to deputies as “the need to comply with IMF requirements.” This became known to UNN from its own sources in the Verkhovna Rada.

At the end of March, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that as a result of the successful seventh review of the EFF program, the state budget received another tranche of $400 million from the IMF, and the total amount of support to Ukraine reached more than $10 billion.

In turn, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Tax Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, stated that the Memorandum of Cooperation with the IMF has undergone significant changes. In particular, the deadlines for the implementation of four structural beacons regarding the appointment of a new head of the Bureau of Economic Security were extended; adoption of a draft law on the risk of critical third parties in the financial sector; amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code to strengthen the fight against corruption; and publication of an external audit of NABU’s effectiveness.

In addition, the IMF has dictated new conditions that Ukraine must fulfill to receive a new credit tranche. This includes the development of an operational plan for the implementation of the IT strategy for the State Tax Service and the State Customs Service; adoption of sectoral strategies in accordance with the new state investment management strategy; conducting an independent audit of the professional suitability and business reputation of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission, as well as reviewing the selection and appointment procedure to the supervisory boards of state-owned enterprises.

At the same time, Danylo Hetmantsev did not mention that the IMF is demanding changes in the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals.

At the same time, according to the interlocutor, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Tax Committee is actively imposing on his parliamentary colleagues the thesis that the IMF requires the adoption of a draft law that would streamline the activities of the DGF. He also emphasizes that the version of the draft law submitted by him is satisfactory to the International Monetary Fund. 

Moreover, the head of the Verkhovna Rada Tax Committee decided to significantly speed up the consideration of his draft law, so to speak, while the deputies and the government have not yet lost the euphoria from receiving foreign funds. Again, according to Hetmantsev, the next IMF review of Ukraine’s implementation of structural beacons should take place on July 8, and, allegedly, the deputies need to have time to streamline the work of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, which no one except the MP himself requires.

Hetmantsev’s committee plans to consider the draft law at a meeting next week, and after that it will be proposed for consideration by the people’s deputies in the first reading. By the way, the consideration of the draft law was previously scheduled for the fall of this year.

Hetmantsev’s initiative did not undergo any public discussion. Moreover, even related parliamentary committees, such as the Committee on Economic Development, the Committee on Legal Policy, or the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, did not consider Hetmantsev’s draft law for possible risks.

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Obviously, such haste by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Tax Committee is not in vain. After all, a preliminary study of his initiative allows us to conclude that it contradicts not only the Constitution of Ukraine and current legislation, but also the requirements of the IMF itself.

After all, the draft law, which is presented as a technical improvement of legislation in the field of financial stability and the activities of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals, is actually a full-scale reform that fundamentally changes the balance of power in the deposit guarantee system

According to the changes proposed by Hetmantsev, the DGF will lose its independence and will actually come under the direct control of the National Bank. In addition, public control over the Fund’s activities will be significantly reduced, as public access to reporting, asset valuation and information on the sale of bank assets in liquidation will disappear.

The draft law also effectively deprives depositors and shareholders of banks that are being liquidated of the opportunity to appeal the DGF’s decisions in court. They plan to reduce the deadlines for appeals to the court to 30 days, and in the absence of access to public information about the Fund’s activities, such appeals will become impossible.

The Fund is also planning to be given the opportunity to independently, without the approval of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, formulate the rules of operation. The DGF will also have the right to independently confiscate depositors’ funds in case of missing the deadlines for applying for their return. Again, due to the lack of access to public information and the inability to appeal the Fund’s decisions in court, depositors will find themselves in a situation where they will not be able to receive the funds they keep in the bank.

According to lawyers and experts in the banking sector, Hetmantsev’s draft law does not take into account either the interests of depositors, the interests of shareholders, or the position of creditors. It focuses exclusively on the needs of the Deposit Guarantee Fund itself.

It is worth noting that in December last year, Ukraine officially undertook not to change the structure of the financial system under martial law. It is directly stated:

“We will refrain from making any changes to the distribution of roles and responsibilities of participants in the financial security system during martial law. The current structure of the financial security system is largely shaped by reforms carried out under previous Fund-supported programs (IMF – ed.) and has proven itself well in times of crisis. The DGF plays an important role in Ukraine’s financial security system, ensuring deposit protection and addressing the problems of insolvent banks. Therefore, we recognize that maintaining its current role in the financial security system is extremely important.”

So now we are obviously talking about an attempt to secretly, urgently reformat one of the key institutions of the banking system of Ukraine, limiting transparency, narrowing the rights of depositors, creditors and shareholders, and also jeopardizing Ukraine’s obligations to the International Monetary Fund. Instead of the expected strengthening of the protection of depositors’ rights, Hetmantsev proposes to make the DGF an engaged structure, fully controlled by the National Bank. And manipulations with the demands of international creditors can painfully hit the image of the entire current government, including President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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