Financial news, budget and personal finances
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has approved emergency financing for Dnipro's utilities. Details—and open questions about spending transparency.
# Investigation: Orbán's Personal Revenge Behind March 5 Cash Courier Arrests An investigation by Telex revealed that the detention of cash couriers on March 5 was not based on law, but on Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's personal decision to retaliate against Ukraine over disruptions to the Druzhba oil pipeline. Following electoral defeat, prosecutors reclassified the case and acknowledged that there was no evidence.
If the deal goes through, Dragon Capital will acquire Ukraine's third-largest non-life insurer by premiums — and will become the first major investment fund to make a bet on this market during the war.
# 18 British Animals Vie for Spot on Pound Banknotes. Behind the Selection Stands Not Just Aesthetics — But the Fight Against Counterfeiting and the Question: Whose 'Native' Matters More.
Former owner of Lithuania's Snoras bank Vladimir Antonov spent 14 years on the run — through London, Moscow and Brittany. On May 22, he ended up in a Vilnius prison with a sentence in absentia of 10.5 years.
23 banks account for more than three-quarters of Ukraine's net assets, but the document fixes "aspirations" rather than commitments — and contains no sanctions for deviating from the course.
While the rest of Europe's major stock exchanges had been updating records years earlier, the FTSE MIB remained stuck in the shadow of the dot-com boom. On May 25, 2026, it finally broke free — not thanks to tourism or fashion, but due to banking consolidation and global enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence.
From January to April 2026, communities collected 112 million hryvnias in tourist tax — 13% more than a year ago. But the issue lies not in the growth figure, but in how the mechanism works: who pays, who doesn't, and what communities do with it.
# 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.