The Ministry of Finance Will Once Again Seek an Independent Member for Sens Bank's Board
The Ministry of Finance will soon conduct a new selection process for an independent member of the supervisory board of “Sens Bank.” This was announced by Deputy Minister of Finance Yuriy Draganchuk during a meeting of the parliamentary temporary investigative commission. According to him, the Ministry of Finance did not support the candidacy of Mykola Hladyshenko due to his lack of experience.
The Ministry of Finance plans to hold another selection process for the position of an independent member of the Supervisory Board of Sens Bank. Deputy Minister of Finance Yuriy Draganchuk made this announcement on September 2 during a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission on Economic Security. “In the near future, we will hold another selection process and appoint another independent member,” Draganchuk said.
A new selection process is necessary following changes to the bank’s supervisory board. Mykola Hladyshenko was previously a member of the board, but his term was terminated.
Why the Ministry of Finance Did Not Support Hladyshenko
According to Draganchuk, the Ministry of Finance did not support Hladyshenko’s candidacy due to his lack of experience. He noted that the Ministry of Finance’s position aligned with the assessment of the company “Executive Search Ukraine,” which participated in the selection of candidates.
This company evaluated the applicants and formulated recommendations regarding candidates for the supervisory board. According to the deputy minister, it was precisely the level of experience that was one of the reasons why the Ministry of Finance did not support Gladyshenko’s candidacy.
At the same time, Draganchuk emphasized that the decision to elect the chair of the supervisory board was made by the board members themselves. “Gladyshenko was elected chair of the supervisory board by its own members,” he said. Thus, according to the Ministry of Finance’s representative, the ministry did not support Gladyshenko’s candidacy, but the final decision regarding the chairperson was made by the supervisory board itself.
What Happened to Hladyshenko
The story surrounding Mykola Gladyshenko’s candidacy became one of the topics discussed at the TSC meeting. Earlier, it had emerged that the HR firm had initially excluded him from the shortlist of candidates for the “SENS Bank” supervisory board. According to information discussed at the commission’s meeting, Gladyshenko scored lower than the other candidates.
Afterward, Iryna Mudra, then deputy head of the Office of the President and a member of the selection committee, called the HR agency and asked them to review the list. Following this, several candidates were added to the shortlist, including Gladyshenko.
Company representatives explained that they were carrying out the request of the competition’s client—the Selection Committee. According to them, the HR agency did not make final decisions but only evaluated the candidates and provided recommendations. These very circumstances are currently also being investigated by the parliamentary temporary investigative commission.
Who Is Currently on the Supervisory Board
The composition of Sens Bank’s supervisory board has changed recently. On August 21, the government appointed Nataliia Degtyareva, former director of the banking supervision department at the National Bank of Ukraine, as the state representative on the supervisory board.
And on August 31, the government appointed Gerhard Bösch, the former head of PrivatBank, as an independent member of the board. Bösch replaced Mykola Hladyshenko, whose term had previously been terminated. However, both new appointments still need to be approved by the National Bank of Ukraine. In other words, the process of forming the new composition of the supervisory board is not yet complete.
Why is a new selection process being held?
Following the change in the board’s composition, the Ministry of Finance plans to conduct another selection process for an independent member. Draganchuk did not name a specific candidate they plan to appoint. According to him, they will first conduct the new selection process and only then determine the candidate.
For a state-owned bank, the composition of the supervisory board is of particular importance. It is this body that oversees the work of the management board, participates in determining the bank’s strategy, and monitors the institution’s management. “Sens Bank” has been state-owned since its nationalization in 2023. Therefore, the appointment of members to its supervisory board involves the state.
Currently, the Ministry of Finance is effectively preparing to fill another position for an independent board member. At the same time, the process of approving the candidates already nominated by the National Bank is underway.
Thus, following the incident involving Hladyshenko’s candidacy, the composition of Sens Bank’s supervisory board continues to change. The Ministry of Finance has announced a new selection process for an independent member, and the final composition of the board will depend, in particular, on the results of the competition and the National Bank’s approval of the candidates.
Mykola Hladyshenko was not initially included on the shortlist of candidates for the Sens Bank supervisory board because he scored lower than the other applicants. Afterward, Iryna Mudra, who was then the deputy head of the Office of the President and a member of the selection committee, called the HR agency and asked them to review the list.
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