Exclusive: Ukraine central bank governor rejects claims of personal motive in postal service feud
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Ukraine's central bank chief denied that a personal conflict contributed to the bank's decision to request the dismissal of the CEO of Ukraine's state postal service, amid a public outcry over the decision.
"(Ihor) Smilianskyi is trying to impose a convenient narrative on the media about some non-existent personal conflict," Andriy Pyshnyi, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, told the Kyiv Independent in an interview on June 24 on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk, Poland.
"This is nonsense, and I categorically reject it," he added.
The National Bank announced on June 23 that Smilianskyi did not meet the "fit-and-proper requirements" to be the head of a financial payment services provider. Ukrposhta provides essential financial services — particularly in rural areas — including money transfers, basic banking services, and pension payments.
The announcement means that Ukrposhta has five days to remove him.
Smilianskyi's explosive commentary in response to the NBU’s decision has whipped up a media frenzy in Ukraine.
"I violated the main rule of the banking sector of Ukraine in 2023–2026: you must love and exalt to the heavens the head of the NBU, Andriy Pyshnyi," Smilianskyi said on his Telegram channel on June 23, in response to the decision.
"Otherwise, you cannot be a banker or work in the financial sector," he added.
Smilianskyi appeared to threaten Pyshnyi personally with legal action and told him to "be careful" with his assets and not to move them anywhere. It is unclear what Smihilansky meant.
Pyshnyi said that Smilianskyi’s commentary ignores the long and technocratic process through which the decision was made.
"Such a simplified approach devalues the huge work done by the NBU team. Such decisions are never made by individuals; they are made collectively," Pyshnyi said.
Two bodies, the Qualification Commission and the Supervision Committee, made the decision to remove Smilianskyi unanimously, according to Pyshnyi. As governor of the bank, he is not a member of either body, he said.
Asked whether the NBU is ready to impose a temporary ban on payment services or suspend Ukrposhta’s license should Ukrposhta fail to comply, Pyshnyi said that it’s "difficult to say."
"Let's see how the situation evolves," he added.
