The National Bank of Ukraine is in talks with the International Monetary Fund regarding a potential continuation of the current IMF Stand-By program that will come to an end on December 8.
"The current program comes to an end 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 on its extension for 6-9 months. This period is due to technical necessity—this is exactly how long it will take to go through all the revisions provided for by the program," NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko explained in an interview with LB.ua.
He added that the Ukrainian side should now address this issue. Ukraine and the IMF should also agree on "basic approaches and principles economic changes will be built on in the next 3-5 years."
Context. The IMF virtual mission to revise the Stand-By program began working in Ukraine on September 21. Prior to its start, Gerry Rice, Director of the IMF Communications Department, said that the themes for discussion between the Fund and the Ukrainian side will remain unchanged: the independence of the National Bank of Ukraine, judicial reform, and the fight against corruption.
Kyrylo Shevchenko, the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, predicted at the beginning of September that the amount of the second Stand-by tranche could be higher than the planned $700 million provided the tranches are consolidated. This issue will be negotiated during the discussion with the mission as well.
Recall that in August, Ukraine got 1.9 billion SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), or about $2.69 billion in equivalent from the International Monetary Fund.
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