When a run started on a medium-sized Ukrainian bank last October a storm swept through Ukrainian banking. Yesterday’s star-performing economy was brought to earth with a loud thud. The result has been queues outside banks of depositors wanting to withdraw their money, authorities running around in circles seeking to pass laws to restructure the system and a political inferno that threatens to bring down a less-than-stable government.
Fear and loathing continues to stalk Ukraine’s banks. Dramatic consolidation under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will put hundreds of bankers out of work, while the public pours venom – through the columns of Kiev newspapers – on the owners of banks, who are refusing to pay out because they fear collapse.
