The National Bank of Ukraine is easing some currency restrictions, changes include dividend repatriation, expanded hedging, currency transfers abroad, and unification of loan regulation, the NBU reported, writes UNN.
Details
"The National Bank of Ukraine is easing a number of currency restrictions. The new package of currency liberalization is designed to provide businesses with incentives and opportunities without creating significant additional demand in the Ukrainian foreign exchange market," the statement said.
Almost all changes, as indicated, come into effect on August 6, 2025. The exception is the permission to return mistakenly transferred funds from abroad in foreign currency, which will take effect on August 7, 2025.
- businesses will be able to repatriate dividends for 2023. This is possible within the current limit - 1 million euros equivalent per month. This means that companies will be able to repatriate profits from activities starting from January 1, 2023 (previously - only from 2024).
"According to NBU estimates, this will not generate significant additional demand for currency," the regulator noted.
- opportunities for hedging currency risks are expanding. This measure is part of the IMF program. It allows for operations with banks to sell currency for hryvnias on a "forward" basis without delivery of the underlying asset. Resident clients (legal entities and individual entrepreneurs) will be able to buy currency from banks on a "forward" basis with delivery of the underlying asset to hedge the risk of currency exchange rate changes for import operations.
"The bank will be able to conduct such operations only within the volume of foreign currency that it buys on a "forward" basis from other clients, so these changes will not put pressure on the foreign exchange market," the NBU stated.
- changes are being made regarding foreign currency transfers abroad. Legal entities and individuals will be allowed to return mistakenly transferred funds in currency that were credited to client accounts. The request for return must be submitted within three business days from the date of receipt of the notification of the erroneous transfer to the bank from the non-resident bank. Resident maritime agents will be able to transfer funds abroad to return unused funds in currency received from non-resident shipowners or other principals.
- steps are being introduced to support the domestic jewelry industry. Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs in the retail sale of jewelry will be allowed to purchase bank metals for non-cash hryvnias under certain conditions.
"Pressure on the foreign exchange market will be limited, given that the purchase of bank metals through official channels will reduce the volume of the gray market," the National Bank noted.
- approaches to regulating external loans are being unified. The changes concern loans provided by a pool of foreign creditors, which includes an international financial organization (IFO). Enterprises will be able to service and repay such loans not only to the IFO but also to other participants in the credit pool if they are first-class foreign banks with a rating no lower than "A". Permission is provided to transfer funds from Ukraine to satisfy recourse claims of foreign guarantors, sureties, and insurers who have already paid the obligations of the resident borrower under such loans.
- The NBU continues to implement stimulating currency liberalization:
- The list of operations that resident legal entities can carry out beyond the established limits within the investment limit is being expanded - dividend repatriation will be added to them.
- Incentives will be provided to businesses that support the Armed Forces of Ukraine - resident legal entities will be allowed a number of cross-border transfers beyond the established limits within the amount equivalent to the funds transferred by them from August 7 in national or foreign currency to the NBU special account for collecting funds to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
- Conditions are being created for the conversion of the resident borrower's debt under an external loan into a non-resident's contribution to the authorized capital of this resident.