NBU Governor on new IMF program: it must maximally consider Ukraine's European integration movement

The Board of the National Bank discussed with the heads of 30 largest banks of Ukraine expectations regarding a new program with the IMF for Ukraine. NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi emphasized that together with the IMF, a new program design needs to be developed to ensure regular inflows of external financing. It should also maximally take into account Ukraine’s European integration movement. UNN reports this with reference to the National Bank of Ukraine.

DetailsDuring the meeting with the heads of 30 largest banks of Ukraine, the existing potential of the banking sector to strengthen the economy’s ability to respond to wartime challenges was also discussed.

The discussion about a new potential program does not mean that we are ineffective within the current EFF program. On the contrary, we have successfully passed eight reviews. However, now we need to develop a new program design together with the IMF to ensure regular inflows of external financing.

He said that the main goal of a possible new program with the IMF will remain to ensure Ukraine’s macro-financial stability and to form a sustainable model for its economic recovery. Within the scenario agreed with the IMF, Ukraine’s partners will form their vision of future support for our country.

In this context, the NBU Governor noted two important statements:

• President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on a new financial instrument – a reparations loan based on income from immobilized assets of the Russian Federation;
• European Commissioner for Enlargement Marti Kos on significant progress in cooperation with Ukraine in adapting Ukrainian legislation to EU standards.

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As Pyshnyi noted, the new program with the IMF should maximally take into account Ukraine’s European integration movement. At the same time, with the support of partners, Ukraine must mobilize its internal potential to ensure stable financing of constantly growing defense expenditures.

Speaking about internal resources, the NBU Governor first of all emphasized the importance of further actions to promote the de-shadowing of the economy. Pyshnyi called on the banking community to jointly solve the problem of drops, which are one of the “pillars” of supporting the shadow sector. He emphasized that in response to joint actions of banks, organizers of drop schemes invent new ways to circumvent established restrictions, including through fictitious entrepreneurship.

The NBU Governor also noted that this issue is on the agenda of financial regulators of leading countries of the world, and called on banks to dialogue for further development of effective supervision.

Also during the meeting, issues of developing capital market infrastructure, the NBU’s decision on the discount rate, the state of international reserves, Ukraine’s needs for international financing, the situation on the foreign exchange market and the possibilities of the domestic debt market were discussed. Currency liberalization, business sentiment, credit development, and the initiative to change the name of small coins from “kopeck” to “shag” as a logical conclusion of Ukraine’s monetary reform were also not overlooked.

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AdditionThe Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the National Bank and IMF experts completed discussions on the implementation of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program. The meetings lasted from September 3 to 10.

On March 31, 2023, the IMF Executive Board approved a four-year program under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Ukraine with financing of approximately USD 15.5 billion (SDR 11.6 billion).

The program is part of an international support package for Ukraine totaling approximately USD 148 billion for 2023-2027.