Ukrainian parliament approves investment banker Hontareva as central bank chief

KIEV (Reuters) - The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly approved investment banker Valeria Hontareva as the new head of the central bank, as nominated by President Petro Poroshenko. In a brief comment to parliament after the vote, Hontareva, who has worked for leading Ukrainian and international financial institutions in Ukraine for 18 years, said: "My appointment can be seen as a positive signal for bankers and a positive signal for international investors." (reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing By Richard Balmforth; Editing by Toby Chopra)