The Board of the National Bank of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 308 of 19 July 2012 “On Amendments to Some Regulations of the National Bank of Ukraine” (hereinafter referred to as Resolution No. 308), which was registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 9 August 2012 under No 1352/21664 and came into effect on 23 August 2012.

In accordance with Resolution No. 308, the Regulation on the Procedure and Conditions for Foreign Exchange Trading has been amended, inter alia, to specify the terms and conditions under which banks make own foreign exchange purchases. Virtually, those banks that are in a breach of any requirements concerning establishment and maintenance of mandatory reserves are not allowed to acquire foreign exchange for their own needs during the next calendar month.

If a bank purchases foreign exchange for its own needs, it will violate the established procedure for foreign exchange trading.

In order to prevent such violations, the National Bank of Ukraine has taken the decision to restrict access to the System of Confirmation of Agreements in the Interbank Foreign Exchange Market operated by the National Bank of Ukraine for some banks pursuant to the requirements set out in Resolution No. 308. Such restrictions apply to those banks that have violated the established procedure for foreign exchange trading.

In view of the above, the National Bank of Ukraine dismisses claims appearing in print and online media that some banks have been unreasonably cut off from the System of Confirmation of Agreements as misleading and groundless.

We consider it necessary to emphasize that the National Bank has acted in compliance with the NBU regulations.

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the restrictions apply to transactions conducted by banks when they purchase foreign exchange for their own needs and do not apply to foreign exchange purchase transactions that banks carry out by the order of the banks' customers and for customers’ account.