Financier Denis Gorbunenko: The share of Ukrainian-owned banks is growing, and the sale of Idea Bank is a landmark event
Poland's Getin Holding has sold Ukraine's Idea Bank to Ukraine's TAS Group, signalling that banks with Ukrainian capital are proving more stable and adaptable in times of war. Financier and banker Denis Gorbunenko shared this view on his LinkedIn blog.
He described the sale as a landmark event, although not entirely unexpected, given that in late April, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) had demanded that Idea Bank's Polish shareholders sell the Ukrainian asset within six months.
"The reason for this is that in early January 2021, the Polish authorities the restructuring of Idea Bank S.A., which was also owned by Getin Holding, due to insufficient capital. Idea Bank S.A. was transferred to Bank Pekao S.A., the country's second largest bank," the financier wrote.
Gorbunenko added that the sale of a bank with foreign capital to a Ukrainian owner shows that banks with Ukrainian capital are more stable and adaptable in times of war. They have ambitions to grow and are not afraid to take greater risks.
"This is also evidenced by the NBU’s data: banks with Ukrainian capital are more aggressively expanding their loan portfolios than banks with foreign capital. The foreigners are choosing a more balanced strategy and invest in risk-free assets, such as NBU certificates of deposit or government bonds. The share of banks with Ukrainian capital in the banking system's assets has been growing this year (even excluding state-owned banks)," he says.
However, he believes that new deals involving the exit of foreign banks from the market are unlikely.