Ievgen Balatskyi

The problems of formation of small business in Ukraine are caused by insufficient financial provision, ineffective mechanism of taxation and unsustainable state regulatory policies. The aim of the paper is analyze financial provision of small businesses and substantiation of its improvement scenarios with the use of foresight instruments. The paper evaluates the criteria of financial provision of small businesses. It offers the organizational mechanism of financial provision of small business. It also assesses the system of relations “state-small businesses” in the formation of financial provision of companies and identifies the main obstacles for the realization of small business potential. The use of foresight technologies in building scenarios for the formation of financial provision of small businesses is proposed. Stages and methods of systemic foresight are considered. The conclusion is made that financial provision of small business in Ukraine should be focused not only on changes in the legislation, but also on the improvement of state support of small businesses and expansion of the relationship “state-small businesses”.

This paper investigates competitiveness in the Ukrainian stock market during local crisis of 2013–2015. The following hypothesis is tested: crisis decreases competitiveness in the stock market. The analysis is carried out for the most liquid stocks in the Ukrainian Exchange (UX) over the period from 2010 to 2017 using both traditional measurements of market concentration (Hirschman Index, Lerner Index, Comprehensive Concentration Index, Entropy Index, Gini coefficient, etc.) and some alternative methods like regression analysis with dummy variables and Kruskal-Wallis test. The results suggest that the current degradation of the Ukrainian stock market is closely related with significant changes in the market concentration which are caused by the local crisis.

In an unstable financial and economic, political and social context, a number of Ukrainian banks demonstrate downtrends in their profitability, liquidity, and solvency rates. With that, the financial health and the growth vector of the whole banking sector of the country in the strategic perspective precisely depends on the quality of measures taken to ensure the financial security of a banking institution.
The article analyzes the concept of financial security of a bank from the standpoint of protective, dynamic, resource-functional, competitive and systemic approaches. The authors substantiate that the financial security of the banking system as a whole and that of an individual bank is an integral part of the financial security of the country. In addition, three methodological approaches to assessing the financial security of the country's banking sector are identified and described, namely instrumental, system and target-oriented and criterial ones. Based on theoretical and methodological analysis of scientific works and methodological approaches, a system of research and methodological support for the bank's financial security is proposed.

The Ukrainian stock market is rated as an emerging market, which is characterized by high profitability and higher risk level as compared to developed economies. Securities transactions on the Ukrainian stock market are accompanied by stable uncertainties. Moreover, insurance is the most effective way to reduce financial risks and their negative effects. Given the current economic and political instability, financial risk insurance can ensure the economic performance of business entities and stimulate their further economic development. Financial risk insurance is the liability insurance in its nature, but its terms are often included in property insurance. This insurance sector has considerable facilities, which require activation of new insurance products that will be able to protect individual and institutional investors. Insurance and stock markets are direct competitors for limited investor resources, including strategic sources such as temporarily free institutional investor funds and household savings. In general, although there is a significant interaction between the insurance and other financial markets in Ukraine, it is hardly realized at all, unlike foreign economies, where it is used to its maximum. With the development of the insurance culture of the population and insurance in general, the relevance of insurance services in a high-risk segment like the stock market increases. The article harmonizes types of financial risks arising on the stock market with the methods of their leveling (insurance, hedging, diversification, etc.), determines the risk factors of the investor in the stock market, and specifies the professional risks of financial institutions. For the Ukrainian stock market participants, the use of two types of insurance coverage, namely, Bankers Blanket Bond and Financial Institution Professional Indemnity, is proposed.

The article is devoted to studying the impact of different social and economic indicators on defining the population’s tariff burden for housing and utilities services. The article analyzes the housing and utilities services provision system in Ukraine. It is noted that the majority of such companies are communally owned. The effect of different factors on defining the population’s tariff burden was found. The impact was studied, and the need for considering the organizational, economically oriented, and social factors when defining the housing and utilities services tariffs was substantiated. The housing and utilities services tariff policy system, the procedure of the tariffs’ structure developing, which is formed from economically reasonable costs of service provider’s operating and financial activity (full target prime cost) and part of income, were studied. The financial relationships between the housing and utilities companies with budgets of different levels, first of all with local budgets, and state target funds; financial and credit institutions, and insurance companies, etc. were analyzed.