The resignation of Rozhkova and the appointment of her successor at the NBU will be considered on August 15

The resignation of Rozhkova and the appointment of her successor at the NBU will be considered on August 15

The personnel meeting of the National Bank Council has been rescheduled from August 8 to August 15, this Friday.

It is planned to approve the resignation of the First Deputy Governor of the National Bank, Kateryna Rozhkova, whose contract was set to expire on June 15, 2025, and to appoint her successor.

Reason for the rescheduling: NBU officials want to fully comply with the meeting procedure, which, according to the regulations, must take place 10 days after its announcement, to prevent Rozhkova from challenging her resignation in court in the future.

The current board member of the NBU, Serhiy Nikolaychuk, is being named as a potential candidate for the position of first deputy. His promotion from Deputy Governor to First Deputy is the main theory being actively discussed among the regulator’s leadership, but it’s still at the rumor level. The official agenda of the National Bank Council meeting, at which Rozhkova’s dismissal and her successor’s appointment are to be considered, does not mention any names. It only states that a personnel issue will be considered.

The nomination of Serhiy Nikolaychuk is explained in various ways, including his good relations with the new Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko. They crossed paths while working at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Agriculture: Svyrydenko served as Deputy Minister from September 2019 to July 2020, which almost entirely coincides with Nikolaychuk’s tenure in a similar position. Afterward, he transitioned to the role of director of the macroeconomic research department at the ICU Group. Due to this and the fact that previously (from 2004 to 2019) Nikolaychuk worked and advanced in positions at the National Bank under Governor Valeria Gontareva, he was long considered her protégé.

Positive relationships between Nikolaychuk and Gontareva’s right-hand person, Kateryna Rozhkova (whom Gontareva invited to work at the NBU), whom he may now replace as First Deputy, were also noted.

The 44-year-old Serhiy Nikolaychuk is a macroeconomist. Currently, as Deputy Governor of the NBU, he oversees three departments: monetary policy and economic analysis, statistics and reporting, and international cooperation. He became Deputy Governor on July 23, 2021, meaning his seven-year contract was supposed to end in 2028. However, if appointed to First Deputy, Nikolaychuk could work in the National Bank until 2032.

Meanwhile, First Deputy Kateryna Rozhkova supervises two methodological departments and the financial stability department, the latter responsible for bank stress testing, which is currently underway. The results are expected at the end of August or early September.

If Serhiy Nikolaychuk is promoted to First Deputy, a reorganization of management areas between deputies and the reassignment of departments could occur in the National Bank.