In early January, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshny, was proclaimed the best banker of the year by the British financial publication The Banker.
This award, although highly recognized, has received mixed reactions in light of current events.
According to the NBU, Pyshny received this title for maintaining the economic stability of Ukraine, despite hostilities within the country.
However, the cost of obtaining this degree has grown impressively every year - this year the award to Pyshny cost $450,000, while the year before it was $300,000. This information was shared in the Daily London Reporter.
“Well, what are these merits for if they can be bought? Selling them also devalues them, if this is such open information,” someone wrote in the comments to the news.
Despite this significant amount, which could have been invested, for example, in supporting the Ukrainian army, Pyshny continues to furnish his office with cups, having already been recognized in other financial ratings.
By the way, he received his first award from the same magazine last year.
Under Pyshny’s leadership of Oschadbank, the bank’s financial condition floated from profit to loss and back, and additional capitalization from the state budget amounted to 33.7 billion hryvnia.
At the same time, many people who worked at Oschadbank under the current head have already shared their work experience more than once on social networks:
“I worked at Oschadbank under the leadership of Pyshny. I know how it is from the inside. The workers themselves buy lotteries in order to fulfill the plan, and for the fulfillment of the plan, a bonus is given to the management, not to the employees. They sent transfers to each other, they collected humanitarian aid from their salaries (and the media wrote that the bank was allocating funds and thanked the manager). It was still a circus."
Thus, the question of assessing Pyshny’s achievements has become the subject of widespread discussion: are his awards and status more important than the actual results of his leadership in the difficult economic and political situation in Ukraine?
