National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyy has accused the country's securities regulator of stalling the creation of a unified national stock exchange.
The central bank chief said the proposed market overhaul was designed to link trading, clearing, and custody under a single holding company backed by a reputable foreign partner, but the leadership of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission was blocking progress.
Speaking in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Pyshnyy explained that the blueprint was the joint work of the central bank, the Ministry of Economy, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He said the model reflected state interests in establishing a vertically integrated capital market and argued that trust in the initiative should not be undermined.
Under the central bank's proposal, a strategic foreign investor trusted by global capital would be brought in through a competitive tender. Pyshnyy suggested established international financial operators such as Deutsche Börse, Euroclear, or Clearstream as suitable candidates, while emphasizing that Ukraine's national security requirements must also be respected during the selection process.
Proposed holding structure
The dispute comes as Ukrainian lawmakers move to advance draft legislation establishing the new market structure. Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Ukrainian parliament's finance committee, said on October 22 that the committee had approved a finalized draft law setting out the ownership framework for the planned infrastructure holding.
According to Hetmantsev, the strategic foreign investor selected through a public competition would hold a 50 percent stake in the infrastructure holding company. The Ukrainian state would retain a blocking minority of 25 percent plus one share, while the remaining 24 percent would be distributed among commercial banks and professional capital market participants.
The Verkhovna Rada committee on finance, tax, and customs policy oversees banking and investment legislation in Ukraine. Hetmantsev has led the committee through major economic overhauls, coordinating policy between parliamentary factions, the finance ministry, and the central bank.
Dispute between regulators
The securities regulator has put forward its own legislative program. On October 21, the National Securities and Stock Market Commission announced that it was working on a broad package of laws aimed at introducing investment accounts for citizens, revising regulations for pension and mutual funds, streamlining online corporate registrations, and building European-standard infrastructure.
The commission stated that it had drafted a financial market infrastructure bill in cooperation with the EBRD, using a strategic concept that had received official approval in March.
The National Bank of Ukraine and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission share oversight of the nation's financial system from their headquarters in Kyiv. The central bank governs monetary policy, currency circulation, and commercial lenders, whereas the commission functions as an independent state agency supervising stock exchanges, brokerage firms, and asset managers.
International financial partners
Efforts to rebuild Ukraine's capital markets gained formal momentum on July 11, 2025, when the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the NBU, the securities commission, and the EBRD signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a new exchange. By November 2025, the London-based development bank had begun preparing a tender to recruit a strategic investor.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is a multilateral lender founded in 1991 to foster private sector development across Central and Eastern Europe. Owned by dozens of sovereign governments and international bodies, the institution ranks among Ukraine's most prominent foreign creditors and financial advisers.
The potential strategic partners cited by Pyshnyy represent Europe's core financial market plumbing. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Börse runs cash equity and derivatives venues, while Brussels-based Euroclear and Luxembourg-based Clearstream manage international central securities depositories that process cross-border trades and safeguard trillions of euros in financial assets.
Trading, clearing, and custody
On June 5, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers resolved to submit a draft law to parliament creating the statutory foundation to attract a foreign anchor investor. That bill envisions a holding company spanning the entire financial transaction lifecycle, integrating trading facilities with central clearing and securities custody.
In modern financial markets, securities trading represents only the initial transaction between a buyer and a seller. Clearing houses subsequently match orders, verify liquidity, and guarantee that trades settle even if one counterparty defaults, while custodial depositories hold title records and manage corporate actions. Combining these functions into a single corporate structure is intended to lower administrative costs and provide foreign asset managers with familiar institutional safeguards.
The competing regulatory initiatives now await formal legislative debate in the Verkhovna Rada, where lawmakers must decide how to balance national oversight with foreign participation in the country's financial architecture.
