Actions of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) on the gradual elimination of administrative currency restrictions should be accelerated. The market shows signs that the shadow economy is expanding, the outflow of currency bought by the public from the banking system, as well as an increase in devaluation expectations, the Ukrainian Credit-Banking Union (UCBU) has said in a statement.

The union said that the shadow currency market volume has reached 50%. This creates an additional devaluation pressure on the hryvnia and complicates the functioning of the official currency market in the country. Since the introduction of the administrative restrictions by the NBU in 2014, currency sale volumes on the interbank market have decreased by almost 66%, from $500 million to $175 million. With a decrease in exports revenue by 30%, the interbank currency market should have been around $350 million. The restrictions to buy cash currency and take it from deposit accounts by the public have resulted in the outflow of around $14 billion.

"The UCBU backs the regulator's plans to liberalize the currency market, but the pace of its introduction is not enough for bringing the market effectively out of the shadows," UCBU Director General Halyna Olifer said.