Ukrainian National Bank proposes expanding export guarantee system

MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian National Bank is expecting the government to provide export guarantees for certain agricultural products and proposes that a similar system apply to a group of other goods for which there is an overdue debt, bank deputy head Yury Geletiy said.

"We are expecting the government to implement the export guarantee system for certain agricultural goods, In fact, these are the categories with the largest number of export transactions. We think the system can be expanded to include other groups of goods and have presented our vision to the government as to the categories of goods with the largest payment delays," Ukrainian media quoted Geletiy as telling a press briefing.

Cooperation with the State Tax Service is important in this context in order to exchange information and understand the scope of export contracts closed as a result of measures taken by the State Tax Service, he said.

There is also need for active dialogue with banks, Geletiy said. "The issue of prepayments is high on our agenda. Some companies actively use the repayment mechanism, and return those prepayments as a way of hedging against currency risks," he said.

The financial monitoring unit of the Ukrainian National Bank is considering additional risk indicators to minimize this approach, which is unproductive and has a negative effect on demand for foreign currency in some cases, Geletiy said.