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The National Bank fined Idea Bank for unethical behavior. What else are banks punished for

The National Bank of Ukraine has imposed a penalty on Idea Bank in the form of a fine for violation of ethical behavior requirements. This was reported by the NBU, Komersant ukrainskyi informs.

Based on the results of on-site supervision of compliance with the requirements of the legislation of Ukraine on the protection of the rights of consumers of financial services, the National Bank found that Idea Bank did not comply with the requirements established by law for interaction with consumers in the settlement of overdue debts. The offending bank must pay a fine of UAH 102 thousand

It is known that Serhiy Tigipko, a shareholder of TAS Group, intends to acquire Idea Bank. In December 2024, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine approved the sale. For the legal completion of the transaction, the National Bank’s decision is still required. As reported by Interfax Ukraine, the National Bank has already received the relevant package of documents.

The NBU’s approval should be the final step in finalizing the deal between the Polish group Getin Holding and Alkemi Limited, which is part of Serhiy Tigipko’s TAS. The deal, worth $34 million, was concluded in October 2024.

What else and whom the National Bank punishes for

In February 2025, the National Bank of Ukraine imposed enforcement actions against five banks and six non-bank financial institutions for violations of financial monitoring and currency legislation.

The measures were applied, in particular, to:

• JSC OTP BANK. The penalty is a fine of UAH 10,051,000.00 for improper fulfillment of the bank’s obligation to conduct due diligence of new and existing customers; and failure to establish a high level of risk of business relations, in particular, with customers who are citizens of a state that carries out armed aggression against Ukraine. The bank was also penalized with a fine of UAH 51,000 for improper statistical reporting on foreign exchange transactions;

• JSC IIB was fined UAH 3,878,655.00 for improper fulfillment of the bank’s obligations in the field of currency supervision;

• JSC BANK OF INVESTMENTS AND SAVINGS was fined UAH 3,051,000.00 for improper fulfillment of the bank’s obligation to conduct due diligence of new customers and existing customers, in particular, in terms of monitoring the customer’s business relations and financial transactions on an ongoing basis;

• JSC Ukreximbank was penalized for UAH 1,051,000.00 for improper fulfillment of the bank’s obligation to conduct due diligence of customers and the obligation to apply a risk-based approach in its activities.

The foreign exchange market is also under the control of the NBU

According to MP Danylo Hetmantsev, citing data from the National Bank, in 2024, the regulator conducted 150 inspections of 17 licensees and charged UAH 5.6 million in fines.

According to the NBU, the main problem of the foreign exchange market is illegal exchangers. At the same time, in 2025, the NBU recorded a decrease in the number of complaints about the work of exchangers.