The NBU pledges to maintain Ukraine's financial stability / Photo from Flickr
Smolii met with G7 ambassadors and IMF representatives.
Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yakiv Smolii says Ukraine has every chance of smoothly passing a peak of repayments on foreign state debt and maintain its international reserves at the current level estimated at up to US$21 billion if international partners continue support.
"The main thing for the central bank is to fulfill its mandate to ensure price and financial stability. For this, we will continue working with all state institutions, with the support of the institutional independence of the NBU by our international partners, guided by the principles of transparency and partnership," Smolii said during a meeting with G7 ambassadors and representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
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According to the NBU, the G7 ambassadors once again expressed concern regarding high-profile court rulings in Ukraine's financial sector.
UNIAN memo. The IMF Executive Board approved a new 14-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Ukraine in the amount of $3.9 billion. Ukraine received the first disbursement under the new program in the amount of $1.4 billion on December 21, 2018. Another two disbursements worth $1.3 billion each are expected after the reviews of the implementation of the program's provisions in May and in November 2019.
By the arrival of a new IMF mission in May, Ukraine's parliament should pass the so-called split law (splitting functions to regulate financial services), while the government should reorganize the State Fiscal Service into the tax service and the customs service. Also, the subject of Ukraine-IMF talks will be an increase in natural gas prices for households by 15%.
According to the memorandum with the IMF, Ukraine has pledged to raise prices as of May 1, but in view of a reduction in gas prices on the European market, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers decided to lower prices.
In addition, experts predict that cancellation by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine of responsibility for illegal enrichment and a number of court rulings to revoke PrivatBank's nationalization may affect further cooperation with the IMF.