Financial news, budget and personal finances
# Tether and Tbilisi announce GELT — digital lari on blockchain. Unusually, it's not the fact itself, but the architecture of the deal: the state is not just permitting it, it's a co-creator.
# Ukraine's Economic Security Bureau Classifies Aircraft Lease Payments as Royalties Despite Legal Exclusions The Bureau of Economic Security is qualifying aircraft lease payments as royalties — despite the Tax Code and court practice explicitly excluding transport from this definition. Airlines including Ukraine International Airlines (MAU), SkyUp, "Roza Vitriv," and other carriers have come under scrutiny.
A coin featuring an artist who surpassed Picasso in boldness and left a Kyivan rhythm in Paris — the first in the National Bank of Ukraine's new numismatic series dedicated to avant-garde artists.
Kevin Warsh took the oath of office at the White House—the first time since Greenspan in 1987. But the main question isn't about the ceremony: will he be able to navigate between presidential pressure to cut rates and inflation that still hasn't surrendered.
# Liability Insurance Rates Rise by 25-30% Starting January 2025 Since January 2025, prices for motor liability insurance (MTPL) have increased by 25-30%, while compensation limits have been significantly expanded. We explain how the new tariff system works, why a cheap policy may turn out to be worthless—and where to find verified options.
PrivatBank has appointed the top manager of Singapore's UOB as deputy chairman of the board for digital transformation. Marcus Krabbenborg will start work on June 1 — amid the bank's AI program, which it launched in autumn 2025.
The appellate court has rejected the final argument of PrivatBank's former owners — the decision to collect over $3 billion comes into full force. The funds have not been paid yet, and the bank is already pursuing enforcement proceedings worldwide.
# Ukrposhta Changes Stance on Small Import Parcel Taxation A year ago, Ukrposhta blocked a bill on taxing small import parcels. Now it supports it. What changed, and why this is suddenly beneficial for everyone except the buyer.
The NBU published a draft resolution on requirements for a limited banking license. Behind the document stands a simple problem: ordinary banks do not enter frontline areas and do not lend to farmers — even state-owned ones.
The regulator, which itself supported this rate in 2023 as a one-time measure, now warns that its systematic application undermines bank capital and slows business lending during the recovery period.
The government has amended Resolution No. 699 on voluntary civil defense groups: local authorities can now directly finance duty schedules, equipment, and payments without intermediaries in the form of state budget funds.
New Prime Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that the Orban government likely falsified budget targets. The finance minister confirms that it will take another one and a half months of audit to understand the real state of the treasury.
Vienna's Commercial Court has banned Borislav Bereza from disseminating claims about the involvement of Oschadbank and its management in the shadowy withdrawal of assets. The ruling is preliminary in nature but already requires the deletion of publications.
The Cabinet of Ministers allocated funds for the restoration of infrastructure damaged during one of the deadliest strikes on rear cities — the November 19, 2024 shelling. Work has been halted due to budget deadlines and procurement procedures.
The chairman of the board Mikael Björknerth publicly speaks about ambitions to become a "model for Europe." Behind the scenes — an open question of privatization and 20 billion in dividends that the bank recently transferred to the state.
Dombrovskis signed a memorandum, and the first 3.2 billion euros could arrive in Ukraine as early as June — if parliament ratifies the document and approves tax changes, which lack a majority in the Council.
The Athens Composite Index has risen 146% over five years, outpacing Nasdaq 100's 116%. Behind this figure lies thirteen years of work with debt, banks, and a reputation that had to be rebuilt literally from scratch.
Sviridenko announced a new economic strategy oriented toward European standards. The question is not about ambitions—it's about how progress will be measured.
The Justice Ministry signed a one-page document that prohibits the IRS from ever auditing Trump's past tax returns, those of his family, and his companies. The document emerged the day after a major peace agreement and was not mentioned during Senate hearings.
Over four months, Ukraine spent 1.35 trillion hryvnias — 13.8% more than last year. More than 63% of these funds were consumed by defense, and the pace of spending already signals pressure on the annual budget.
The state postal operator has violated financial legislation again — and this is already a systemic pattern, not a one-off incident.
# British Regulator Fines Deutsche Bank London Over Transfers to Sanctioned-Linked Streaming Service Britain's financial regulator has fined Deutsche Bank's London office £165,000 for transfers to the streaming service Okko, which is affiliated with a sanctioned company. It has emerged that Apple financed the same recipient in the same months and also received a penalty. The common denominator: a restructuring scheme that Sberbank carried out 24 days before sanctions were imposed.
Brussels has officially included VAT on foreign parcels in the conditions of macrofinancial assistance — the same law that the Verkhovna Rada did not support in spring. The first tranche is expected in June.
Budapest annulled deportation and Schengen bans for all seven Oschadbank employees and removed their data from registries. The decision was made not based on a court verdict, but because the country's own constitutional protection body withdrew the accusations.
Airlines, household appliance manufacturers, tire factories — Reuters documented how the war of the United States and Israel against Iran has already rewritten the financial forecasts of at least 279 corporations worldwide.
Oschadbank has issued a credit for a 50-MW energy storage system with coverage from Lloyd's syndicates — marking the first such precedent in Ukrainian energy sector during the war. The issue is not about megawatts, but rather that international insurers have so far avoided war risks.
Ukraine's economy entered 2026 with a 1.2% contraction in GDP over the first two months — the forecast growth of 2.4% no longer reflects reality. Behind the figures are shuttered factories, blackouts, and decisions that will affect every budgetary hryvnia.
The Cabinet of Ministers consolidated payments from four programs into a single special Dia.Karta account, canceled the deadline for using funds, and expanded the list of permitted purchases — but earmarking requirements remain in place.
# Government Members Forgo Legal Payments in Favor of Children's Home Members of the outgoing government—from Gergey Guyash to János Bóka—have renounced their lawful payments in favor of a children's home in Velyka Dobrana. Behind this gesture lies a specific Hungarian community in Ukraine and the first signals of new Budapest diplomacy.
The U.S. President returned from China without a breakthrough on tariffs — and acknowledged this himself aboard Air Force One. However, his trade adviser had formulated a specific architecture for a new deal even before the flight.