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24.12.2015
1672
The sale of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ripple, OneCoin, on the non-bank financial market of Ukraine has become a problem for financial institutions, as it undermines their reputation, said Oleksandr Zaletov, a member of the National Financial Services Commission. According to him, life insurance companies are particularly affected, whose agents have actively undertaken to sell “virtual currency” among the population. “Thereby, they harm the reputation of insurance companies, since cryptocurrency transactions in our country are illegal, and the client does not always understand the essence and consequences of such a transaction,” says Zaletov. The commission today decided to officially remind participants in the non-bank financial market about the illegality of cryptocurrency transactions.
Virtual money
“Virtual currency” is digital coins that can be stored in electronic wallets and transferred between them. This currency does not have a physical carrier - real banknotes. But it can be exchanged for regular money through specialized trading platforms. The central banks of many countries do not recognize "virtual currency" as money. In November 2014, the National Bank also banned Ukrainian banks from using cryptocurrency in its letter, calling it a money surrogate.
But, despite this, the value of such money in the world is growing rapidly. The very first cryptocurrency, 1 Bitcoin (from the English bit - a unit of information "bit" and coin - "coin") - at the time of its creation in 2009 cost only 5 cents, and in 2015 - $ 250.
Against the backdrop of another rise in prices for this currency and the loss of public confidence in other means of storing funds after the "bank crash" of recent years, interest in cryptocurrency among Ukrainians has increased significantly. Insurance agents took advantage of this. “Revenues from the sale of accumulative life insurance are falling due to the crisis, so agents decided to earn extra money on cryptocurrency,” Alexander Zaletov explained to Capital.
Agents of influence
The life insurance market has noticeably narrowed in recent years. If in 2013 insurers concluded 510,000 accumulative life insurance contracts, then in the current year - a little more than 300 thousand.
“Nevertheless, selling exotic currency to people is immoral, therefore it can lead to the emergence of new financial pyramids,” believes Ruslan Vasyutin, chairman of the board of the life insurance company Jupiter VIG. “The population in general does not understand the essence of such investments and how this financial instrument works. And people can be deceived, as in the notorious MMM. " According to the chairman of the board of Aegon Life Ukraine Nina Guzey, the sale of such instruments by intermediaries undermines the faith of Ukrainians in life insurance. "When trading Bitcoin, the agent most likely presents himself as an employee of the insurance company. And when people lose their money, they will blame not the agent, but the insurer, "- believes Nina Guzey.
That is why insurers, first of all, should put order in the work of their intermediaries, believes the chairman of the board of the company "Blue Policy" Serhiy Tarasov. "In Ukraine, the work of insurance agents is regulated not by the supervisory body, but by insurance companies. Therefore, insurers must explain to their agents the consequences of such operations. And even better - to legally issue a ban on such activities, "- believes Tarasenko.
Maslow's Pyramid
But life insurance companies, especially in conditions of a falling market, are very dependent on intermediaries, so they will not prohibit agents from doing anything, says Vyacheslav Chernyakhovsky, head of the insurance commission of the Ukrainian Society of Financial Analysts. "Insurers are ready to turn a blind eye to the sale of Bitcoin or Oriflame cosmetics by agents, because they are dependent on sellers, and they have nothing to "feed" on today. What can they live on if policy sales are falling? "- says Chernyakhovsky. On the other hand, in his opinion, no one prevents the commission from regulating the activities of insurance agents, including by determining what sanctions can be applied to them for transactions with illegal financial instruments.
According to Oleksandr Zalyotov, the National Commission for Financial Services does not have enough authority for this today. Such conditions can be created at the legislative level, in particular, the law "On the Prohibition of Financial Pyramids in Ukraine", the draft of which was adopted by the parliament in the first reading two years ago. While the document is gathering dust in the walls of the Verkhovna Rada, the commission is preparing amendments to it that will also apply to sales of "virtual currency" to the population.
Based on materials from: Capital
