On April 30, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a two-year Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Ukraine, amounting to SDR10.976 billion (about USD 17.01 billion), to support the authorities’ economic program aiming to restore macroeconomic stability and enhance the efficiency of mechanisms aimed at securing sustainable economic growth.

Ukraine has received the first tranche of SDR 2.058 billion of IMF loans under this program. The funds were used to replenish the gold and foreign exchange reserves, which have increased to USD 17.30 billion (as of May 7, 2014), up from USD 14.23 billion in early May.