In a sign that the Ukrainian FX market is going back to business as usual, the NBU this week has seen banks starting to make transactions with each other. These activities have so far generated as little as the equivalent of USD 10 million in volume, but this is an important stepping stone towards the resumption of full-fledged market mechanisms.
“Even as russia’s assault on Ukraine rages on, the NBU is interested in ensuring that banks transact with one another as actively as possible. Although the exchange rates at which the NBU buys and sells foreign currency from/to banks are fixed, they do leave some room for supply-and-demand mechanisms,” said NBU Deputy Governor Yuriy Heletiy.
On 24 February 2022, the NBU promptly adopted a number of decisions to ensure the reliable and stable functioning of the financial system amid military aggression by the russian federation, including fixing the exchange rate at the 24 February level and suspending the FX market’s operation, except for FX sales by customers. In the evening of the same day, the NBU eased and clarified a number of restrictions. On 1 March 2022, the NBU allowed foreign exchange transactions between banks for foreign currencies within the first group of the Classifier of foreign currencies and investment metals.