Yanukovych signs depository system law

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has signed the law on the depository system in Ukraine, under which the single central depository and the single clearing center are created in the country, and which will be under the control of the state and the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) in the first years of their operation.

The document was signed on September 22, 2012, fifteen days after the document was signed by Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, according to an announcement posted on the parliament's Web site on Monday.

At the same time, the wording of the law is not available on the Web site.

As was reported earlier, parliament early in September 2012 tried to vote for changes to the law, but failed to obtain the required minimum of 226 votes.

When Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn put the issue to the vote, MP Stanyslav Arzhevitin did not support this, declaring that parliament was trying to replace whole paragraphs in the law supported on July 6, 2012.

"Can it be a lack of correspondence when we adopted in the session hall with you that the charter capital of the clearing center should be at least Hr 100 million. The amendment says Hr 120 million… When we say that the state should be the owner of at least 50% of the central depository and passed this in the session hall, now it is proposed at least 25%," he said, presenting examples of a lack of correspondence.

"This is new wording of the draft law rather than inaccuracy and inconsistence," he said.

The necessity to remove a lack of correspondence was caused by the fact that during the voting for the law on July 6, 2012, Deputy Speaker Adam Martyniuk stopped Head of NBU Council Ihor Prasolov, who presented the document, making several amendments, and put the wrong wording up for voting.

Leading stock exchanges and international financial organizations proposed that the president veto the law on the depository system passed by parliament.

The law was also criticized by international payment systems, as the wording of the law passed in second reading allows the National Bank of Ukraine to monitor the activity of payment systems, and if needed, to issue instructions and recommendations, and apply measures of influence in the form of fines, suspension of the provision of certain services and a total ban of work. Simultaneously, lawmakers considered and on July 5 2012, passed in first reading a bill on the operation of payment systems and the development of non-cash settlements (Bill No. 10656).

At the same time, the Depositary System Law was backed up by the Ukrainian Stock Traders Association, which has self regulating organization status, and the Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine.