Since October 21, Ukrainians have opened 2.5 thousand deposits with the purchase of dollars at the official rate of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) for a period of 6 months, followed by the mandatory sale also at the official rate, the NBU press service reported on Friday.
According to the release, the average deposit amount is $3.6 thousand, and the total amount attracted as of November 1 on such deposits amounted to $9 million.
“The NBU does not have targets for attracting such deposits by banks. Our goal is to stabilize and improve exchange rate expectations, reduce pressure on the hryvnia cash exchange rate and protect international reserves,” the press service of the head of the monetary policy department of the department of monetary policy and economic analysis of the National Bank Mikhail Rebrika.
As reported, since October 21, the NBU, in cooperation with banks, has allowed individuals to buy US dollars at the official NBU rate, followed by their placement on a fixed-term deposit in a bank and the mandatory resale of the purchased currency upon the expiration of the deposit at the official rate.
According to the report, the amount and number of such deposits for one client of the bank are not limited, and the interest rate on the deposit will be set in accordance with the interest rate policy of banks, the deposit term is from six months with the possibility of prolongation, but without the right of early termination.
Earlier, from July 21, the National Bank allowed the purchase of non-cash currency at commercial rates to place it on deposit for at least three months, but without the obligation to sell such currency upon completion of the deposit. At the same time, the volume of such deposits was initially limited to UAH 50,000, and recently the ceiling was raised to UAH 100,000 per month.