By Olena Hrazhdan

Copyright kyivpost

Ukraine’s government has decided to begin preparations for selling state-owned Sense Bank and Ukrgasbank, marking a shift from its earlier stance of avoiding bank sales during wartime. Instead, the government now aims to reduce its share in the banking sector.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a decision to start preparations for the sale of state-owned shares in the authorized capital of JSC Sense Bank and JSCB Ukrgasbank.

“The goal is to reduce the state’s share in the banking sector and channel proceeds from the sale into the State Budget of Ukraine,” the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine wrote in its press release on Thursday.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko signed the government’s resolution on Oct. 1, according to the published document.

The sale will proceed in three stages under Ukrainian law: preparing the share package, conducting a tender, and signing a purchase and sale agreement.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) had previously approved the privatization of Sense Bank and Ukrgasbank. Earlier, sources in Ukraine’s largest state-owned bank told Kyiv Post – on condition of anonymity – that the Finance Ministry intended to postpone sales until after Russia’s full-scale invasion and martial law had ended.

However, on Aug. 20, the NBU’s Financial Stability Council endorsed selling the banks, saying the move would not harm the country’s financial stability or banking sector.

Sense Bank, formerly Alfa-Bank Ukraine, was owned by entities linked to Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman, Andrey Kosogov, and Petr Aven through UK, Luxembourg, and Cyprus-registered firms. The bank was nationalized in the summer of 2023 after its owners came under international and Ukrainian sanctions.

Ukrgasbank is a state-owned retail and business bank in Ukraine known for its focus on “green” finance.