Governor Erik Thedéen visited the central bank in Kyiv
News, Press release On Friday, Governor Erik Thedéen visited the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), where he met and discussed the current situation with the bank's management. Mr Thedéen is thus the first central bank governor to visit the NBU in Kyiv. The Riksbank is now expanding its cooperation with the NBU, which includes increasing support in the payment area, developing the monetary policy analysis, governance and management forms and communication. The Riksbank also has much to learn from the NBU in the area of crisis preparedness, they have managed to maintain socially critical payments and increase digitalisation under very difficult circumstances. Mr Thedéen finished the day with a lecture at the Kyiv School of Economics.
Governor Erik Thedéen visited Kyiv on Friday 15 December. During his visit, he met with the Governor of the Central Bank and staff of the National Bank of Ukraine, NBU. Important issues that were discussed included how the Riksbank can provide continued support with regard to issues in the payment area, but also how we can learn from the Ukrainian experience, of maintaining socially critical payments in a war situation. Thedéen also met with private sector participants in the payment market, banks and other private companies in the financial sector. He rounded off the day by giving a lecture at the Kyiv School of Economics, a university that has received financial support from Sweden since 2005.
“We have been in constant contact with the central bank since the Russian invasion. It has been extremely valuable to make this visit and meet my colleagues at the National Bank of Ukraine, among others. I am particularly impressed by how the National Bank of Ukraine has managed to maintain the functioning of the financial system and socially critical payments even in the difficult circumstances that prevail. We have a lot to learn from the NBU in the area of crisis preparedness when it comes to financial matters. Our support is important now, when Ukraine is fighting against Russia’s illegal invasion. The Riksbank will therefore provide more and deeper expert support to the NBU where we can, particularly with regard to the payments market,” says Governor Erik Thedéen.
Background
Since 2015, the Riksbank has worked intensively with the National Bank of Ukraine, which covers all aspects of central bank operations, monetary policy, payments, the stability of the financial system, cash, communication, research and governance issues. This cooperation, which is funded by SIDA, has continued even after the outbreak of war.