Let Russian oligarchs pay for rocket strokes. As frozen Russian assets will help restore Ukraine infrastructure
The policy of rocket terror of Ukrainian cities leads to a further increase in expenses for both physical recovery of infrastructure (already exceeded $ 140 billion), and for the restoration of the economy as a whole, which is several times higher than the amount of frozen state assets in the West (almost $ 350 billion) .
The decision of the US Prosecutor General to transfer to Ukraine the frozen assets of one of the Russian oligarchs, although it is not striking (approximately $ 5 million), but creates the necessary precedent of legal settlement of the transfer of arrested assets in favor of Ukraine. This practice can be a significant source of additional financial support for Ukraine in the medium term.
Last week, the EU countries have continued to discuss 11 packages of sanctions against Russia, which may include restrictions on diamond trade, secondary sanctions on third countries that continue to export European goods to the Russian Federation and restrictions on transit of European goods by the Russian Federation (from $ 2 billion Commodity exports sent transit from the EU to Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were "lost" during transit).
According to the monthly reporting of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine for January-April 2023, the total amount of cash expenditures of the general fund of the state budget is UAH 865. 5 billion. In April, expenditures amounted to UAH 229. 3 billion. The structure of expenditures is most directed: during the next auction for the placement of government securities, which took place on 16. 05. 2023, the Ministry of Finance attracted UAH 2. 2 billion to financing the state budget for terms from 9 months.
to 2. 5 years at rates from 18. 5%to 19. 75%, as well as 121. 4 million euros per 1 year (at a rate of 3. 25%). The weighted average level of yield of new hryvnia borrowing was 19. 6%. Reducing the foreign currency supply to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by the clients of banks against the background of increasing demand for it led to an increase in the net sale of foreign currency by the National Bank to balance the market up to $ 536 million (compared to $ 259 million a week earlier).
According to the National Bank, the indicators of the adequacy of banks of banks on the results of April remained at the level of close to the previous month: 20. 95% for regulatory and 13. 4% for the fixed capital of banks. The corresponding values exceed the minimum regulatory requirements (10% and 7%, respectively) and are a fuse regarding the negative impact of hostilities on the solvency of the banking system.
Banks' sufficiency creates opportunities for the development of bank lending that continues to decline. Thus, according to the National Bank's prompt data, the amount of loans provided by banks of the corporate sector and households in April was reduced in all currencies. In particular, the hryvnia loans of the corporate sector decreased by 1. 5% per month, in foreign currency - by 0. 5%. Household lending in March decreased by 0. 4%compared to the previous month.
At the same time, the funding of banks at the expense of hryvnia deposits continued to increase. In particular, the balances in the hryvnia accounts of corporations increased by 5. 6%in April, the population by 1. 5%. At the same time, rates for new hryvnia deposits in April remained at the level of the previous month.
The volume of liquidity of the banking sector (in the form of balances on correspondent and in deposit certificates of the NBU) increased to UAH 645 billion, of which about 2/3 - in the NBU's deposit certificates.
The main factor in increasing banking liquidity, as before, was the expenses from the Single Treasury Account of the Government, while the intervention of the National Bank for the sale of foreign currency and the outflow of cash into non -Bankivskyi circulation reduced free liquidity in the banking system. Excess liquidity, for its part, determines the low demand of banks for the refinancing and maintenance of market rates at the level of the lower limit of the NBU operations (20%).
Banking lending continues to be supported by the state program "Available loans of 5-7-9%". Under the terms of the program last week, banks issued 448 preferential loans totaling UAH 1. 8 billion, of which about two -thirds - by state banks. The total number of loans issued since the beginning of large -scale hostilities in the territory of Ukraine under the program amounted to 26. 8 thousand for a total amount of UAH 107. 5 billion.