According to the NBU, the initiative envisions the creation of a unified operating model covering trading, clearing, settlement, and depository accounting. The system will be built on international standards, adapted to Ukraine’s financial environment.
The first step will involve the transfer of the state’s stakes in the National Depository and the Settlement Center to the NBU, the formation of a holding company with international investors, and the launch of a new exchange that will take control of the Settlement Center.
At the final stage, all depository services will be consolidated under the National Depository, which will assume responsibility for the accounting and servicing of government bonds. It will function as a central depository under the control of the NBU, acting as its key shareholder.
The NBU emphasizes that this integrated model will help attract strategic investment, expand access for international participants, strengthen regulatory oversight, and stimulate the growth of domestic investment. Oversight of the implementation plan has been assigned to the Financial Development Committee of the Financial Stability Council.
Currently, Ukraine’s stock market is failing to fulfill its core functions of channeling capital into the economy and faces a number of structural weaknesses:
- Underdevelopment and low liquidity: trading volumes are minimal, with most activity concentrated around government bonds.
- Limited instruments: virtually no functioning markets for equities, corporate bonds, or derivatives.
- Low number of issuers: as of 2024, only around 1,600 public companies remain, most of them inactive.
- Weak institutional investor base: pension funds, insurance companies, and investment funds have limited impact.
Key challenges to development include:
- Investor confidence: frequent scandals involving financial pyramids and weak protection of investor rights.
- Regulatory barriers: outdated procedures and bureaucratic hurdles.
- Lack of integration with international markets: restricting access for foreign investors.
- Economic and wartime context: the war and macroeconomic instability constrain opportunities for raising private capital through the exchange.
