The NBU is expanding its cooperation with Clearstream, an international central securities depository. Specifically, the NBU and Clearstream have agreed to expand the existing link to the Ukrainian capital market with additional asset classes.
Thanks to the link’s expansion, foreign investors will be able to make transactions not only with Ukraine’s government securities, but also with other post-war reconstruction-related financial instruments.
To achieve this, Clearstream will open a nominal holder’s securities account at the NBU with the support of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
The NBU estimates that this step will facilitate growth in cross-border investments, improve the Ukrainian capital market’s liquidity, and enhance the market’s capacity to provide instruments for the post-war reconstruction and recovery of Ukraine’s infrastructure and economy.
"As a provider of trusted, transparent, and efficient infrastructure, we operate our link to Ukraine with the aim of enabling further international investment opportunities. This decision emphasizes our commitment to the Ukrainian market and our excellent local partners and, most importantly, our aim to actively support the reconstruction of the country," said Jan Willems, Head of Global Markets at Clearstream.
"Almost four years of successful NBU-Clearstream link operation have proven the investors’ interest in the Ukrainian market," said NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy.
"In view of Ukraine’s anticipated recovery plans, the NBU is happy to provide a reliable and ready-made solution aimed at further expansion of the link and opening access to post-war financial instruments to Clearstream’s customers. Development of cooperation with Clearstream will contribute to widening the range of investors and might become one of the driving forces in facilitating Ukraine’s infrastructure rebuilding," said the NBU Governor.
Yuriy Butsa, Ukraine’s Government Commissioner for Public Debt Management, welcomed the expansion of the Clearstream link to the new assets in Ukraine.
"We thank our partners at Clearstream for making it happen at such a challenging time for our country. The initial opening of the link to the Ukrainian market back in 2019 proved to be a game changer for our local government bond market and significantly contributed to its development. We believe that the simplified access to diverse Ukrainian investment products for international asset managers will not only help bring foreign private capital to participate in the reconstruction of Ukraine, but also boost the development of the Ukrainian capital market," said Yuriy Butsa.
As previously reported, Clearstream initiated its link to the Ukrainian capital market through the NBU Depository in 2019. This gave international investors access to the local hryvnia-denominated government bond market.
In the months following the announcement of the project’s launch, foreign investments in hryvnia domestic government debt securities increased from almost nothing to UAH 44 billion. In the first year of the link operation, Ukraine reached a record UAH 129 billion in foreign investments in its public debt.
In 2022, despite russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Clearstream continuously ensured the smooth functioning of the market for hryvnia domestic government debt securities on international financial platforms. Throughout this time, Clearstream provided foreign investors with reliable access to Ukrainian financial instruments and worked to expand the link’s capabilities.
Clearstream, which is part of Deutsche Börse Group, provides the post-trade infrastructure for financial markets. Clearstream is one of the world’s largest settlement and custody firms for domestic and international securities. With EUR 16 trillion in assets under custody, Clearstream provides access to securities from 59 domestic markets worldwide.