The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) plans to launch transactions with derivatives in the second quarter of 2020, according to a presentation of open markets by the NBU on its website.

At the first stage, the interest rate swap (IRS) and the conventional swap will be introduced, at the second – forward operations and a special swap, at the third – options.

The launch of central bank operations with derivatives is aimed at strengthening monetary transmission by building a "long" segment of the yield curve and facilitating long-term lending by reducing interest rate risk.

The launch of operations with currency derivatives is aimed at strengthening monetary transmission by reducing the vulnerability of the economy to changes in the hryvnia exchange rate, facilitating lending by transforming currency resources into hryvnia and lowering the level of dollarization, according to the presentation.