A new financial scandal concerning the Bank of the Alliance and its relations with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has broke out in Ukraine. The Facts Publication suggested that the NBU management probably intentionally ignores the problems of the Alliance, which has already fallen under the sanctions of the regulator for violation of financial standards.
Journalists believe that NBU chairman Andriy Pyshny could have avoided conflict with foreign partners and may not want to lose "an important element of shadow infrastructure." According to the material, the National Bank had every opportunity to withdraw the Alliance from the market before the situation became critical. However, due to financial interests and political pressure, the regulator chose the path of inaction instead of decisive action.
“If the situation does not change, the collapse of the Alliance Bank will only become a matter of time. This will necessarily affect the reputation of the National Bank of Ukraine, and the responsibility for it will lie on the shoulders of the regulator management, ”the journalists said. They add that such inaction can have catastrophic consequences for both the clients of the bank and for the reputation of the NBU itself.
Another important issue that raises "facts" is the probable role of the Alliance as an infrastructure unit for shadow operations in "black" and "gray" markets. In 2022, the NBU issued a refinancing bank worth almost UAH 3 billion, which is much higher than the scale of its assets. This contrasts with practice when even larger banks received smaller amounts of support from the regulator.
"It is obvious that the compliance of the Alliance Bank was a direct and direct interest of the regulator," the publication says. It is also mentioned that the bank has influential customers whose interests can be protected at the highest level. In particular, the Alliance cooperated with the gembling business and had fraud with bonds of internal state loan (T -bills), which involved the People's Deputy and its assistant.
Another reason for the "loyalty" of the NBU, according to journalists, is fears of reputation losses for the regulator itself. Probably, the bankruptcy of the Alliance can undermine the trust in the NBU as an effective guide to the financial sector.
An important aspect is also information that the International Financial Corporation (IFC) has provided a bank with $ 11 million for enterprise development. But, as journalists point out, it is still unknown where these funds went.
