09:50 19.05.2017

Acting NBU governor Smoliy confident in receiving fifth tranche from IMF by Ukraine

3 min read
Acting NBU governor Smoliy confident in receiving fifth tranche from IMF by Ukraine

Acting Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yakiv Smoliy is confident that Ukraine would successfully attract the new tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

"We have four key moments to be discussed: this is the pension reform, land reform, anti-corruption court and the development strategy for state-owned banks. I think that consensus will be reached for all the issues and we will receive the new tranche," he told reporters after the NBU conference in Kyiv on Thursday.

Smoliy said that the NBU has settled all the issues regarding the bank sector. The central bank continues working with the government.

"One of the issues that would be discussed jointly is the strategy for state-owned banks," he said.

Smoliy said that the NBU anticipates that all the tranches scheduled for this year in the amount of $4.5 billion would be successfully attracted from the IMF by the country.

As reported, the IMF mission on May 16 started working in Ukraine.

The four-year EFF program launched by the IMF in March 2015, in the total amount of SDR 12.348 billion (around $17.25 billion), initially involved quarterly reviews of the program, with the first tranche of $5 billion, and the next three, SDR 1.18 billion each (around $1.65 billion), to be paid during 2015, and decreasing quarterly tranches to SDR 0.44 billion ($0.61 billion) in 2016-2018.

Ukraine was able to receive, with a slight delay, the second tranche, $1.7 billion, under this program, in early August 2015, followed by a lengthy pause because of the country's failure to meet a number of conditions, political crisis and changes in the government.

Since the arrival of a new government led by Volodymyr Groysman in April 2016 talks over continued funding have resumed but it was not until mid-September that the IMF decided to allocate the third tranche, $1 billion. The fourth tranche was received on April 3, 2017.

According to the new schedule presented in the materials of the IMF, three reviews are planned for late 2017: fourth review in the middle of May, fifth in the middle of August and sixth in the middle of November.

If Ukraine successfully conducts reforms after the fourth review the country could raise $1.907 billion, after the fifth review - $1.28 billion, sixth review - $1.28 billion. In general, some $4.46 billion could be attracted.

In 2018, four more reviews will be conducted and Ukraine could raise around $955 million after each review or some $3.82 billion in general.

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