Parliament passes compulsory FX loan conversion

Макроэкономика 03.07.2015 The Ukrainian parliament adopted a bill that requires banks to convert retail FX loans into hryvnia. The latest version stipulates that all FX loans, not just mortgages, to be converted at the UAH/USD rate that was valid when the agreement was signed. In sum, approximately US$6.0bn of FX loans will be revalued at 5.05 UAH/USD instead of the current 21.0 UAH/USD, leaving banks with an immediate loss of up to UAH95bn. The adoption of this law, in our opinion, is highly populist and does not facilitate solving the problem of FX borrowers. Moreover, as the IMF memorandum specifically stipulates against such conversion, we expect the bill to be vetoed by the president.