Is there any use for Ukraine in forming its financial tomorrow?

I wonder if you’ve noticed the countrywide economical pessimism prevailing today among the experts, and saturating all national mass-media.

Have you noticed the emergence of a crowd of young strenuous as well as seasoned professionals trying to explain to the average Ukrainians by the means of printed press or via the internet publications that the life of Ukrainians is bad and only getting worse; or enlightened “talking heads” on the TV-screen depicting apocalyptic scenes of a ruined domestic economy and financial system? Interestingly, this virtual competition in who can scare a Ukrainian more becomes some kind of a national idea.
Have you ever wondered why the enemy succeeded so easily in proselyting the local population, persuading them that they should not go along with the country where everything is so bad, and offering them an armed alternative of getting out of the situation of total disappointment in the future of the country ruled by the junta and American “Yankees” whose main goal is destruction of the high-spiritual world of red stars and mighty economy built by their grandfathers and fathers, as well as those “spiritual bonds” being the basis for all that is progressive?
We’ve already learned well the “information war” term, and we realize that the information weapons are probably even more effective than the “grads” and “buks” killing physically, because they kill the belief in the future of the whole nation, they form the condition where a man sees no perspectives, and therefore when he’s ready to throw himself on mercy of the one who’s able to show the way, the one who would colour the horizon in light colours of a happy tomorrow. Now we comprehend well how this information virus works, and we know that the public opinion is formed through an everyday hard work beginning from the statesmen’s realization of necessity to form a certain idea, developed by social psychologists and implemented into life through everyday repeated articulation of the necessary messages by the talented and recognised representatives of the society, whose opinion is appreciated and trusted. We can see the virtual reality created for our eastern neighbours by their policy makers, and we realize what a powerful state mechanism works 24/7 to support it, those incredible costs spent on fixing up the “necessary” ideas in the minds of the average citizens.
So we almost got persuaded in the fact that we are not capable of any changes, now why should we even muse on Ukrainian economic and financial tomorrow, if “it’s all over” today?
And what if we imagine the opposite side of the information war: “information peace” when people got infected with a virus of optimism, virus of positive, when a hard and long way of changes on the public mood is started, when a general opinion is formed that the overall state of the country, stability of its financial institutions, and as a result – of welfare for everyone depends on the knowledge and behaviour of each member of the society.
Of course, the work of this kind is necessary in all spheres of life, however as a businessman who worked in the banking system of Ukraine for many years I would like the most esteemed company to consider the importance of opening a new front of shaping the idea of financial relations culture in the Ukrainian society today.
It might seem that in a country being in the state of war this kind of a problem looks untimely and inappropriate; however all of us realize well that everything has its beginning and its end. The was in the East will inevitably end, and it would be nice if the society wouldn’t have to start its way of economic recovery from scratch, the vector and strategy of development must be determined. It’s not that easy, definitely, this process is long, but the road is overcame by the one who goes.
I began my career in one of the biggest Ukrainian banks in 2000s, and I remember well the atmosphere prevailing there. The whole huge team of employees starting with the chairman of the board and all the way down to a cashier worked on the idea of creation of a comfortable universal bank able to provide a maximum of handy, affordable, and clear services to the legal entities as well as to the ordinary citizens. Back then a great attention was paid to studying of the financial services consumers’ needs, measuring of their satisfaction depending on the level of servicing, transparency of rates formation, etc., because it was the quality of the consumer policy that determined such criteria as reliability, and therefore – profitability of a banking institution. The banks fought desperately for the clients through the increase of the services quality, and “reputation” and “image” were not mere words for them…
However somehow imperceptibly the philosophy of banking institutions’ activity changed, and instead of being a fiery engine of the country’s economy, they became a service of solving the shareholders’ urgent problems. For example, the board of directors in one of the banks seriously tried to solve a problem of creation of a product for “financially incompetent physicists”, which was very unfavourable for the consumer because it concealed the real interest rate of 86% per annum instead of 16% declared, at that considerably “blowing up” the credit portfolio, although predictably deteriorating its quality with toxic assets. The regular employees of the bank were prepared for a mass sale of this product, emphasising that there’s no need worrying about things like loan default, the only thing that mattered was the quantity of the loans provided. Thus the bank’s capitalization was increased before selling to the owner not knowing the first word about the banking industry, but having the money and inspiration to buy such an expensive toy and play with it, like in a “Monopoly” game with the friends. Who cares, that a bank is a system, managing it – is an art and a hard work, and the bank’s clients are real people and not the figures in the field of play which can be broken and thrown away.
For this very reason that I know well the business processes of a financial institution as well as the needs of a financial services customer, I understand the advantages and risks of cooperation between these two worlds, I came to a conclusion that Ukraine needs to develop a strategy of forming the culture of financial relations in the society, and systematically and intensively work on implementation of the latter.
According to my earnest conviction the culture of financial relations is a synergy of all human and spiritual values, which must lay in the grounds of business relations, built on mutual respect of the financial relations participants, and exclude abuse of possible privileges by any of the participants, and evasion of the responsibilities undertaken, as this kind of financial behaviour inevitably leads to mutual losses for the subjects of financial relations. The culture of financial relations foresees a voluntary search for optimal decisions on the process of financial relations realization.
The financial relations culture means that the basic condition for building-up of effective financial relations is understanding that a decision in any disputable situation can be found without humiliation of dignity from any of the sides. The financial relations culture may exist only in a society with a sufficient level of values development allowing to form and build up the financial relations. The more seriously the notion of a mutual respect between the participants of financial relations will be cultivated in the society, the more useful this will be for everyone.
The financial relations culture is a much wider notion that the notion of “financial culture” and “financial competence”. However it contains both of these notions. The human kind uses the financial relations from the times when the first financial operations appeared, like, for instance, primitive exchange. The evolution of financial relations promoted appearance of such notions as financial culture and financial competence. Today we need to talk about the financial relations culture. And to have a financially stable future, we must teach our children and youth about the financial competence, implant the understanding of financial culture and form the financial relations culture.
The financial relations culture in the society depends on the financial relations: of the state, on institutions providing financial products and services, and the consumers of such products and services.
The state must provide the corresponding conditions to form the culture of financial relations, namely by the institutions providing financial products and services, and the consumers of such products and services.
The financial institutions should offer fair and transparent conditions of financial products and services to the consumers on the stage of familiarization with the conditions thereof (before the legally arranged beginning of the financial relations) warn them about all possible negative consequences in the case of violation of the consumers’ obligations, as well as fulfil its own obligations before the consumer in good faith.
The consumers in their turn should treat their obligations responsibly and understand their own responsibility for the decisions made.
Only fulfilment of undertaken obligations in good faith by all the participants of financial relations, realization of mutual responsibility will make the notion of “financial relations culture” ordinary and achieve the financial stability in the country.
You may notice that our country began the work aimed at liquidation of the financial incompetence. Pretty often you may hear about the financial competence trainings held by the banking institution or other financial companies’ professionals in the schools within the weeks of financial competence, at specialized Internet resources you may already get acquainted with short video-instructions for the consumers of certain financial products. We really can count on the fact that our future generation will possess the knowledge about the financial institutions and services they render, and will be able to put this knowledge to good use, plan their future, save the money and rationally use the accumulated savings.
But we have to realize that the financial competence is a component of a wider notion of “financial culture”, foreseeing a responsible implementation of knowledge about the financial products not only to their own benefit or for the benefit of their friends, but taking into account the interests of the society and realizing that every awkward financial decision will become a burden on someone’s neck, for example, an irresponsible desire to make use of a mortgage with no intention to pay it back may have very drastic consequences for your family and relatives.
Anyway, the notion of financial relations culture demands the presence of an ethic compass not only from the financial services consumer but also from the financial institutions, whose philosophy must be based upon such fundamental notions as integrity, trust, respect, absence of desire to abuse the possibilities and advantages. Is it possible to form a credit culture in the borrowers’ environment, in the case when if a banking institution conceals the factors influencing the full value of the loan as well as important information behind many pages of unclear agreement text?
How can we expect a financial consciousness from the citizens, if they keep their savings on long term savings accounts feeding the home economy and not taking away the costs early at the next opportunity diluting the national financial system in the situation when the state does nothing to protect its citizens from the financial stresses due to its incapability to protect the national currency, control the galloping inflation, prevent the loss of costs caused by awkward, unprofessional or even fraudulent behaviour of the banking institutions’ managerial stuff, who lead the financial institution to the bankruptcy and shuffled off to the state the responsibility to pay back the sums guaranteed by the state, instead of funding such projects that are vital for a constant development of the country.
One of the contemporary politicians managed to discredit a beautiful phrase: “I have a dream!” But paying no regards to the personalities I’d like to say: “I have a dream that one day our country would listen to those incurable dreamers who want to form the future right now, who are persuaded that the ethics is one of the most important factor of financial management that will help forming the mass financial consciousness, and building a fair economically powerful society, and avoiding the crises and shocks in the future”.

Link to the publication 

http://www.business.ua/opinions/chi_varto_ukra_n_formuvati_f_nansove_zavtra-269499/