KIEV, April 22 – The increase in the NBU discount rate reflects growing instability in the country's financial sector, according to bankers polled by Interfax-Ukraine.

"The increase in the discount rate by two percentage notches reflects growing instability in the banking and financial system... One negative impact of the increase in the discount rate would be the overvaluation of risks of the Ukrainian economy by foreign investors, which would psychologically worsen Ukraine's investment attractiveness," said the director of the treasury at Kiev-based Ukrgasbank, Andriy Ponomarev.