NBU eases number of currency restrictions

The National Bank has eased a number of currency restrictions.

This is stated in the NBU's message, the Ukrainian News agency reports.

The NBU believes that the changes will not have a significant impact on exchange rate dynamics and the level of international reserves.

The currency liberalization measures, which come into force on December 21, concern a number of areas.

First, the ban on the purchase and sale of bank metals is being eased.

Taking into account the appeal of the business community and a thorough analysis of the potential impact of such a decision on the foreign exchange market, the National Bank allows legal entities and individual entrepreneurs to buy and sell bank metals without physical delivery for non-cash hryvnias.

Starting from December 21, businesses will be able to conduct relevant transactions under the following conditions:

- the need to carry out the transaction is justified by the production activities of such companies (the business is engaged in the production of jewelry);

- companies / entrepreneurs were engaged in jewelry production before the start of the full-scale invasion, as confirmed by relevant documents.

Such changes will ensure the stable operation of domestic manufacturers in the jewelry industry, reduce the volume of imports of finished jewelry, and also reduce the pressure on business production costs due to the ability to directly purchase raw materials.

Secondly, the permission to purchase currency for the operator of nuclear facilities is being expanded.

The NBU has provided for the possibility of purchasing currency by the operator of nuclear facilities without taking into account the balances of funds in foreign currency received no later than October 31, 2024 within the framework of proceeds under a loan agreement with a non-resident creditor, the guarantor of which is a foreign export credit agency / a foreign state through an authorized person / a foreign person whose participants include a foreign state.

The purpose of such changes is to maintain uninterrupted supplies of nuclear fuel, which is important for the operation of nuclear plants, and accordingly for the energy security of Ukraine.

Third, the NBU continues to unify approaches to the payment of coupons on Eurobonds by Ukrainian businesses.

In addition to the currently available opportunities, the NBU updated the norms that allow Ukrainian companies to reimburse non-residents for expenses incurred due to the payment of coupons on Eurobonds. The norms are optimized in such a way that all Ukrainian companies that raised funds to finance projects in Ukraine through the issuance of Eurobonds have the same opportunities to reimburse non-residents.

Such transfers can be made only at the expense of their own foreign currency, subject to the fulfillment of a number of conditions specified in the NBU resolution.

The changes will not have a negative impact on the foreign exchange market, but will increase the likelihood of new capital investments in Ukraine.

The above-mentioned changes were made by the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine dated December 20, 2024 No. 155 "On Amendments to the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine dated February 24, 2022 No. 18" and come into force on December 21, 2024.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the National Bank of Ukraine made changes to the current currency restrictions on November 20, 2024.

They concerned: the transfer of funds to fulfill obligations under import contracts, payments under international technical assistance projects, and the repatriation of dividends abroad.