KIEV, Dec. 19 – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde has welcomed the decision of the Ukrainian government and the National Bank of Ukraine on the nationalization of PrivatBank, the largest bank in the country, as it is an important step to ensure financial stability.

"Today's decision of Ukrainian authorities to nationalize PrivatBank is an important step in their efforts to safeguard financial stability. This decision was taken to ensure the smooth operations of the bank given its systemic role in Ukraine's financial system, and in view of insufficient efforts to strengthen its capital adequacy in recent months," she said.