Bloomberg: Zelenskiy is dissatisfied with head of the National Bank of Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy is increasingly dissatisfied with the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyschny, viewing him as too close to the International Monetary Fund and not sufficiently engaged in supporting the Ukrainian economy during the war. This is reported by Hlavkom with reference to Bloomberg.

According to sources cited by the publication, an additional factor fueling the president's irritation were the IMF's unpopular demands, in particular about tax increases, which the creditor pressed in exchange for financial assistance to Kyiv.

Despite existing tensions, Zelenskiy currently does not plan to dismiss Pyschny, as he does not see strong replacement candidates for the head of the NBU, who has held the post since October 2022 year. In the NBU, rumors of possible disagreements were denied, emphasizing the regulator's effectiveness.

“The issues you raised were not discussed – neither in terms of their direct substance, nor in terms of the consequences they have. During the full-scale war, the NBU has demonstrated its effectiveness across each of its mandates: ensuring price stability, supporting a stable currency market and strong confidence in the national currency, protecting financial stability and ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the banking system,” reads the NBU's statement to Bloomberg.

At the same time, the regulator notes that the current period of credit growth in Ukraine is the “longest and most dynamic in the past 17 years.”

The publication's sources note that among senior officials there is growing concern about the NBU's tight monetary policy, which, in their view, restrains economic development. Also in the president's circle there is suspicion of the high public activity of Pyschny and his habit of highlighting meetings with international partners on social media.

Among the probable contenders for the post of head of the NBU, according to sources, political circles are considering MP Daniil Getmanets and first deputy head of the NBU Serhiy Nikolaychuk. President's spokesperson Serhiy Nikiforov and representatives of the IMF declined to comment.

As a reminder, the head of the NBU Andriy Pyschny, on his Facebook page, wrote that every Ukrainian banknote, in its own way, documents acts of sovereignty and fixes Ukraine's right to choose its symbols, its heroes, and its history. Therefore, the appearance of a new banknote is a special event.

According to his conviction, introducing a new banknote with denomination 2000 hryvnias corresponds to changes in the economy and at the same time adds a new image to the large visual history of Ukrainian statehood.