Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Kyiv, July 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) from July 28 will sell foreign currency only to those banks that stick to the indicators of the currency market set by the central bank and that do not violate the limits for open currency positions, reads an NBU letter to banks.

"Starting from July 28, 2009, the NBU will consider current bids [for the purchase of foreign currency] only from banks that stick to the indicators of the currency market set daily by the central bank, and which do not violate the limits for open currency positions," reads the letter from the NBU's currency regulation department, signed by NBU Governor Volodymyr Stelmakh.

The letter says that if the banks don't observe the limits for open currency positions, bids for the purchase of foreign currency would be only considered 30 calendar days after the banks bring their total (long and short) open currency positions into line with requirements.

The NBU said that on July 27 the regulator refused to carry out interventions on the interbank currency market to support the hryvnia due to the behavior of the financial institutions.

"It was discovered that banks deliberately increased demand for cashless foreign currency during the NBU's interventions and do practically no work on the Ukrainian interbank currency market with other banks," reads the letter.