Yakiv Smolii

Yakiv Vasyliovych Smolii (; born 1 February 1961) is a Ukrainian economist and banker and former chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine. He was acting governor of the National Bank from 11 May 2017 (when Valeriia Hontareva resigned) until the Ukrainian parliament elected him governor on 15 March 2018. Smolii was dismissed by the parliament on 3 July 2020 after he had tendered his resignation, he claimed he had done this as a result of long-standing political pressure.

Early life and education Smolii was born on February 1, 1961, in Verbovets, Lanivtsi Raion, Ternopil Oblast.

Smolii received his university education from Lviv University where he graduated with B.Sc. in mathematics in 1983. He majored in applied mathematics. 247 deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for him, saying "The National Bank must continue to be independent of political spectrum. Political independence will allow the National Bank to fulfill its mandate effectively, to ensure price and financial stability."

Smolii promised to focus the regulator's attention on maintaining of price financial stability, promotion of economic growth, integration of the Ukrainian financial system into European, maintaining and deepening cooperation with international partners, continued growth of a modern, sustainable and transparent banking system that can effectively contribute to sustainable economic development, resume loan origination to the real economy as soon as possible, conduct a thorough monetary liberalization, work on ensuring a low and stable inflation rate within the period of 5 years in the range of 5 +/- 1%, integrate the Ukrainian financial system into all-European system in the medium run, implementing European directives and norms, in accordance with the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, and financial inclusion, that is, the availability and security of banking services that the NBU prepared a renewal of the development strategy of the financial sector of Ukraine (in particular, for the time period 2020–2025 ). In addition, for the first time, a strategy of the National Bank of Ukraine was developed. It sets goals for the regulator in the medium run. The NBU has set 7 target benchmarks: the NBU plans to focus on resuming loan origination and a smooth transition to free capital movement in addition to the mandate, determined by the law on the NBU, to support low and stable inflation and ensure the stability and efficiency of the banking system. New tasks were also defined: ensuring the effective regulation of the entire financial sector and the development of financial inclusion.

Smolii also noted He claimed he had tendered his resignation because of long-standing political pressure. Smolii claimed this pressure was "paid rallies, pressure through the courts, information attacks and unfounded political assessments." He didn't explicitly state pressure from individual politicians but claimed that "at all meetings where the president, people's deputies or the prime minister were present the National Bank was asked to flood the economy with money and to cancel sound principles of regulation."

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine On March 28, 2018, he was appointed a member of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine by a decree of the President of Ukraine.