The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) hopes for an extension of the program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for 6-9 months, Governor of the NBU Kyrylo Shevchenko has stated.
“The current program ends on December 8 this year and it is important to decide what is next. Now we are holding consultations with the IMF and hope for a decision to extend it for six to nine months,” Shevchenko said in an interview with the online portal LB.ua.
According to him, the specified period is due to technical necessity, since this is exactly how much time is needed in order to go through all the reviews provided by the program.
“Already now, agreeing on the extension of the current program, Ukraine needs to sit down at the negotiating table with the IMF and discuss the basic approaches and principles on which economic changes will be built in the next three to five years,” the NBU head added.
As reported, the IMF in June 2020 approved a Stand-By Arrangement for Kyiv with a total volume of about $5 billion, immediately allocating the first tranche of financing in the amount of $2.1 billion. Four reviews of the program were planned for the allocation of the remaining four tranches. However, the agreed schedule was violated, and funding was suspended due to Ukraine’s failure to fulfill a number of obligations.
