The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is toughening rules of purchase of foreign currency with the introduction of a requirement to service one economic agreement in one bank.
The decision is stipulated in NBU resolution No. 308, which will take effect from the moment of its publication on August 23, 2012.
“Clients of banks (companies and individuals-businessmen) will buy, exchange foreign currency to carry out payments in transactions via one market player for each foreign economic agreement signed with a nonresident. Residents have the right to transfer the foreign economic agreement to the servicing to another market player. The synchronous servicing of the foreign economic agreement in several banks is not foreseen,” the NBU said in a letter to banks.
The NBU recommends banks to inform clients on the change of a procedure for purchase and exchange of foreign currency in current trade transactions.
Commenting the requirement to Interfax-Ukraine the treasury of one of the banks with foreign capital said that the requirement could be ineffective, as it will be observed via the dividing of contracts. In addition, one of the consequences of the changes will be the toughening of competition between banks in the segment of servicing foreign economic entities.
According to the letter, the changes also say that if the requirements of the procedure for forming and storing obligatory reserves over the relevant period are not observed, banks will not have the right to carry out own transactions on purchase of foreign currency during next calendar month.
In addition, the resolution says that residents (companies and individuals-businessmen) have the right to buy and exchange foreign currency to pay to nonresidents under an agreement which empowers them to sell products in Ukraine under an order of nonresidents. However, it is foreseen that foreign currency is bought using hryvnias obtained from the sale of goods, labor and services and on the basis of documents, including those confirming the sale of goods.
The resolution says that clients-residents (companies and individuals-businessmen) have the right to buy and exchange foreign currency to transfer a financial guarantee amounted no more than EUR 10,000 per calendar year to one nonresident to participate in a tender which foresees the supply of goods. One of the grounds for the purchase of foreign currency will be documents confirming the deal.
