The Supervisory Board of the State Export Import Bank (Ukreximbank, Kyiv) welcomes open communication by the Bank's clients and is ready to attend to any matters brought to the attention of the Supervisory Board through the Bank's official communication channels.

"It is important to note that the control over the efficiency of Bank's Management Board is the exclusive competence of the Supervisory Board of the Bank, not the shareholder or any other political body," the Supervisory Board's statement handed over to the agency on Friday reads.

As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with business circles in Khmelnytsky on June 3 called on the head of the board of Ukreximbank Yevhen Metsger to solve the problem of restructuring business loans in the bank after the Khmelnytsky carpet manufacturer "Karat" complained that it had not been possible to postpone that bank repayment of the principal of the loan for a month.

"Yevhen, listen to me! This is not the matter of one company. If there are many entrepreneurs in Khmelnytsky region (these are different companies) are telling about this, then this is happening all over the country (...) Well, solve this issue, do not readdress it to me," said the head of state during a telephone conversation with Metsger, which took place during a meeting with the business circles of Khmelnytsky region on Wednesday. Advisor to the head of the President's Office of Ukraine on Banking, member of the Supervisory Board of Ukreximbank Viktoria Strakhova explained on the same day that the bank makes many restructuring operations, but when it is in the interests of both the client and the bank. Exim is ready, together with the entire banking community and the regulator, to work on systemic solutions. And in compliance with the law, the president will be provided with detailed information on the client and the circumstances why he was refused. As the saying goes, 'there are many interesting things," she wrote on Facebook.

In its statement on Friday, the Supervisory Board emphasized that it was determined to support its customers on the way out of the crisis and urged them to start official and transparent communication with the relevant management bodies of the bank as soon as possible.

"The Supervisory Board reminds that it is of the direct competence of the new Management Board of Ukreximbank to solve current business affairs in a way that defends both the Bank's and the client's interests. The Supervisory Board provides continuing support to the Management Board in them doing so," the document reads.

The Supervisory and the Management Boards of the Bank are guided by the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, Corporate governance principles for banks of Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the Law of Ukraine "On Banks and Banking" and the NBU recommendations on corporate governance, which provide for the clear division of powers between the Bank's governing bodies.

Ukreximbank was established in 1992, and the state is the sole owner. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2020, Ukreximbank ranked third among 75 banks operating in the country in terms of total assets (UAH 202.92 billion).

The Supervisory Board of Ukreximbank consists of seven people (out of nine): Viktoria Strakhova (state representative from the President of Ukraine), Yuriy Butsa (state representative), Dominique Menu, Laszlo Urban, Serhiy Konovets, Dimitri Chichlo and Olyana Gordiyenko (all are independent directors).