Challenges and Priorities of Equity Management of Ukrainian Banks During the Period of Martial Law
Authors:   Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Sloboda Larysa Ya. , Koval-Ignatyshina Vasylyna M. ,   Ivan Franko National University of Lviv
Published: January 2023

The article examines the challenges and peculiarities of the management of the equity capital of Ukrainian banks during the period of martial law. It is proven that the current economic conditions of banks’ functioning are aggravated by a significant level of turbulence in financial markets, crisis phenomena in the real sector of the economy and the global energy market, which creates new challenges in the aspect of bank equity management. The existing understanding of the integrative role of banks’ equity capital in ensuring its functional adequacy to the needs of the national economy at each of the turns of its cycle is disclosed. The characteristic properties of banks’ equity capital, according to the practice of its management, are defined as favorable and those that bring additional challenges when increasing the capitalization of banks in the period of martial law. It was noted that the process of equity capital management has a contradiction at its core: on the one hand, the development of the bank is carried out mainly at the expense of borrowed funds, on the other hand, the scale of its activity is closely related to the amount of own capital. Therefore, it is advisable to make decisions in the field of the formation of the bank’s equity capital on the basis of a comparative analysis of the growth rates of risky assets and liabilities. The bank’s financial managers should pay critical attention to determining the value of equity capital, which will provide an opportunity to increase management efficiency and obtain a relevant information flow for making informed decisions. A comparative analysis of the main economic norms of the capital of the banking system of Ukraine for 2018–2022 justified the implementation of the basic norms regarding capital, however, the assessment of the structure of the equity capital of Ukrainian banks showed that the amount of equity capital continues to be less than the authorized capital, which is explained by the significant losses of the banking system of Ukraine. According to the results of the study, the modern problems of managing the equity capital of Ukrainian banks are substantiated, and priorities and recommendations for their solution are determined. It has been proven that in periods of turbulence, equity capital is more necessary to maintain the solvency of banks than to increase active operations, since capitalization processes occur more slowly than the trends of capital movement on a global scale require. In the conditions of limiting the number of external sources of capitalization of Ukrainian banks, special attention should be paid to the development of internal innovative financial and organizational tools capable of meeting the requirements of both bank owners, managers and clients. Among these tools, it is appropriate to single out corporate governance, in particular, the effective dividend policy of banks and the consideration in banking risk management systems of specific risks of the distribution of ownership rights and management, especially when it concerns the identification of beneficial owners from the aggressor country.