NBU needs to be more aggressive in search for talent and ideas – NBU head

The labor market in Ukraine is complicated, but the National Bank is working to remain competitive in the market, to be an attractive employer, to maintain and strengthen the atmosphere of a leading macroeconomic analytical center, said NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy.

"In my understanding, the National Bank as an institution should always remember that attracting the best personnel from the market means receiving additional expertise and feeding its capabilities. Therefore … we need to be even more aggressive in our search for talent and ideas so that our team constantly receives an influx of new intelligence, new thoughts, a new understanding of the situation, certain fresh views," he said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

According to him, he sees openness to this, including among the board members: everyone is interested in strengthening the team.

Pyshnyy noted that when he came to the NBU as head two years ago, he was convinced that there was a "rather stable team, very solid in terms of expertise."

"In some elements, I saw the need to update it and strengthen it somewhere. Now this composition has taken shape and will develop… It is a living organism that must perceive what is happening in the market, changes in legislation, new challenges, and constantly improve. As of now, the NBU team, it seems to me, understands both the current state and the prospects very well," the head of the central bank added.

According to him, corporate governance is an absolutely appropriate definition for the National Bank, although it has its own characteristics.

"There is collegiality, discussion, a deep understanding of regulations, procedures, the boundaries of the powers of the Council, the boundaries of the responsibility of the board and the value of the team," Pyshnyy explained.

He believes that the National Bank has managed to build an effective board structure.

"I now consider it quite optimal: we have redistributed the relevant verticals, formed their teams, but we are always open to strengthening," the head of the NBU said.

In particular, Pyshnyy added, the structure, expertise, and analytical function of the supervisory vertical "Prudential Supervision" have been strengthened, a risk-oriented approach and integrated supervision have been applied, and new people have headed the departments.

He recalled that a separate direction for supporting the sanctions policy was created in the National Bank of Ukraine two years ago.

Speaking about possible future personnel changes, he pointed out that the NBU is one of the key participants in the negotiation process on European integration, and this is also a factor that will largely determine the design, personnel request, changes in the organizational structure, and the system of priorities.