The National Bank should analyze the resolution banning the conversion of foreign currency loans into hryvnia for businesses and soften it, as this could help the business climate in Ukraine. This opinion was expressed by economic expert Oleksandr Parashchiy in an exclusive commentary to UNN.
As far as I understand, this was done primarily to protect banks. It seems to me that our banks are self-sufficient, and they do not need to be protected in front of their customers,
In his opinion, there is no need to ban the conversion of foreign currency loans into hryvnia for the sake of the balance of payments and exchange rate stability. Therefore, if a bank and a client agree that a foreign currency loan or a part of it can be converted into hryvnia, they should be able to do so.
No one has canceled obligations to banks. And it's good if businesses want to fulfill them. This could really help business, because, again, banks are not in a situation where they have big problems. If a bank has such a desire, it is strange that they cannot do it. Here, perhaps, the NBU should analyze the situation and mitigate it somehow,
It should be noted that the resolution prohibiting businesses from restructuring their foreign currency loans was adopted at the beginning of the large-scale invasion, when Kyrylo Shevchenko was still the head of the NBU. The new head of the National Bank, Andriy Pyshnyi, may take a step towards business in the current circumstances by allowing banks to individually decide on the conversion of foreign currency loans if they reach an agreement with the client.
Such a move by NBU Governor Pyshnyi will definitely not go unnoticed, as it will improve relations between banks and customers and increase confidence in the banking sector.
Context
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian business has demonstrated resilience and readiness to quickly adjust to current challenges.
In the case of the ban on converting foreign currency loans into hryvnia, Ukrainian businesses often resort to unpopular steps to stay afloat and avoid losing everything.
One of the Ukrainian businesses that has a foreign currency loan that dates back to 2006 is the owners of the Gulliver shopping center in Kyiv. By the way, at the time of the loan, the company that received the loan had other owners. The crises of 2008 and 2014 dealt an irreparable blow to businesses that were lent in foreign currency. This led to the fact that the current owners of Gulliver were forced to restructure their debt in 2020. However, they were unable to convert the loan into hryvnia.