After the second reading, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed the president’s bill No.2742, on amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine on strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Bank of Ukraine. 232 MPs out of 226 required to pass a motion voted for a decision, RBK-Ukraine (РБК-Україна) reports.

First Deputy Chair of the NBU Olexander Pisaruk, when presenting the document to the Parliament, said that the bill worked out jointly, by both experts from the NBU and the IMF, is like a "structural beacon” for the IMF to implement the EFF program.

According to him, two major changes incorporated in this document are about strengthening the fiscal independence and enhancing the management role of the NBU.

As regards reinforcing fiscal independence, it is firstly proposed to establish general reserves of the NBU, sufficient to support the NBU’s activities and to ban the transfer of advances to the government coffer prior to assessment of the NBU’s financial statements by the international audit firms.

The second block of questions were about increasing the NBU Board’s influence and powers, in particular, as regards the internal audit performance, monitoring functions of governance and management.

In addition, the law proposes:

- to reduce a number of the NBU’s board members from 11 to 6 (NBU’s Chair, First Deputy and four Assistant Deputies);

- to transform the NBU’s management into a collegial body, with different rights granted to all board members, including the NBU Chair;

- to adopt a changeable schedule for appointing a deputy chair in order to maintain continuity of governance, regardless of appointment of the NBU’s Chair;

- to establish rules preventing conflicts of interest among the NBU’s members, being in compliance with the Code of Ethics;

- to establish that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine can consider reasons for dismissal of the NBU Chair only after presenting the report on bank performance during tenure of the latter as the NBU CEO, to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.