Press Release No. 13/281

Press Release: IMF Executive Board Decides that Ukraine is Expected to Engage in Post-Program Monitoring

July 29, 2013

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund has decided that Ukraine is expected to engage in post-program monitoring¹ with the Fund, following the expiration on December 27, 2012 of the 29-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with exceptional access (SDR 10 billion; US$ 15.2 billion; 729 percent of quota). The program went off-track with only two purchases made in the total amount of SDR 2.25 billion (about US$ 3.4 billion). As of June 30, 2013 Ukraine’s outstanding credit to the Fund was SDR 5.27 billion (about US$ 8 billion; 383.8 percent of quota). The Board's decision was adopted on a lapse-of-time basis² on Friday, July 26.

Ukraine’s outstanding Fund credit exceeds the 200 percent of quota threshold beyond which PPM is typically initiated. The first PPM will be conducted in conjunction with the 2013 Article IV consultation in the fall. The Executive Board discussion is tentatively scheduled for December 2013.

¹ The central objective of PPM is to provide for closer monitoring of the policies of members that have substantial Fund credit outstanding following the expiration of their arrangements. Under PPM, members undertake more frequent formal consultation with the Fund than is the case under surveillance, with a particular focus on macroeconomic and structural policies that have a bearing on external viability.

² The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.