What Made Victor Kravets Resign, or Backstage Games with Agricultural Loans

However, two weeks ago (when Kravets announced his intention to go), bankers saw that his resignation had to do not with his being transferred to another job, but with the bank's worsened financial position or problems in communicating with authorities. Obviously, both versions have some grounds. But let us consider the matter from the very beginning. It was Premier Valery Pustovoitenko who provoked this new conflict involving the largest Ukrainian bank. At a meeting with local state administration heads, he announced his intention to propose shareholders to dismiss Viktor Kravets because of the bank debts owed to the Budget. What the Premier meant exactly is still unclear.

According to information provided by Bank Ukraine, it has no debts to the Budget and regularly pays taxes. Also, we should not rule out the possibility that Pustovoitenko meant the non-repaid loans issued by UAIBB (following the Cabinet's instruction) to agricultural producers. The total amount of loans is currently Hr 1 billion. However, according to The Day source, nobody ever had doubts that these loans would be repaid. The same source maintained that the money granted to the agrarians was just called "loans", being actually nothing more than subsidization for unclothed and barefoot agricultural producers. Leaving aside the analysis of factors that caused such a situation (they are generally known), we should state that the agrarians have remained as barefoot as before. According to unofficial information, this resulted in Pustovoitenko's approving the decision to knock out at least products - if not money - from the farmers (more than 1 million tons of grain have already been supplied to the Pension Fund as debt repayment). They say that Victor Kravets was "very much" in disagreement with the Premier, saying that if debts were repaid by grain, the banks could then just as well say goodbye to their money. As the Premier had not shown any sign of hesitation, Mr. Kravets decided to resign, explaining his decision as follows: "A more vivid personality should be the [bank's] leader. Having considered the situation, I decided that the bank would better off if I go". While the vividness of the bank director's personality can be widely discussed, it is unquestionable that he might have been more amenable and obedient. Some more unofficial information seems to be interesting against this contradictory banking and agrarian background. In Cabinet lobbies, a joke is now circulating that someone already thinks about creating two banks out of the Ukraine Agricultural and Industrial Bank. One bank will be "awarded" with all unpaid farmer loans and other financial problems, and then, officially and pompously, according to the letter of the law, declared bankrupt. The other one will be fostered and cherished, and, eventually, even privatized. Within this context, Kravets' resignation can be viewed as the beginning of future perturbations. As far as the UAIBB administration is concerned, its current leader may go down in the bank's history only preceded with the word "acting". According to Infobank news agency, National Bank Deputy Governor Oleksandr Kyreyev may be appointed as Governor. Or he may not. The story continues.