Nationalized PrivatBank to be sold within five years

Ukraine's nationalized PrivatBank is planned to be sold within five years, an updated strategy for Ukraine's state-run banks says.

"We will approve a new strategy at the Cabinet of Ministers within the next week or two. It foresees the complete withdrawal of the state from PrivatBank's capital, that means we plan to fully transfer the bank to the private sector within five years," Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk said at a briefing with PrivatBank's top managers in Dnipro.

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Speaking about a price the bank could be sold at, Danyliuk said it would be determined by the market and it would depend on the effectiveness of the bank's management, the quality of banking regulations and market conditions.

"We've got five years, and I am confident there will be the most attractive result for taxpayers," the minister added.

UNIAN memo. Dnipro-based PrivatBank has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1992 and is the largest bank in terms of assets.

It was nationalized on December 18, 2016. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, PrivatBank posted UAH 22.966 billion in loss in 2017.