Bankers told how financial institutions were prepared for blackouts.

The Power Banking network, which emerged in the fall of 2022, will once again become relevant during the approaching blackouts in the winter period of 2024/2025.

This was reported by participants of the round table "Winter is near: is business ready for energy challenges and new tax reality," organized by the Financial Club.

"The bank is well-prepared. This includes ensuring the operation of branches and more complex issues such as cloud services, information storage, and uninterrupted transactions even during a blackout. We also addressed the power capacity issue to enable customer payments even during prolonged power outages," says Valeriy Terno, head of corporate sales management at OTP Bank.

Even "exotic" solutions of OTP Bank included local staff. They relocated a certain number of employees abroad to create a backup office in case of unforeseen circumstances.

"All our branches are equipped with generators and voltage stabilizers. Even in the absence of communication, we provided all branches with such equipment," reports Oleg Fedorenko, director of corporate client sales organization at TAScombank. "We are ready for blackouts, ready for different scenarios, including prolonged absence of power and communication," adds network management executive director of Kredobank Oksana Stetskyiv.

Oleg Fedorenko notes that if a branch is located in or near a business center, it is possible to connect to a common generator. However, owners of separate premises do not always agree to changes, so generators have to be attached to facades.

To avoid constant relocation of generators to the street and indoors, they are fixed near buildings. "Many tenants agree to this. Many generators are already fixed near buildings and facades. It may not always look aesthetic, but it works. We even created a sub-project 'Fixing generators stationary.' Many are granted permits," says Oksana Stetskyiv.