Ukrainian govt decides to restrict traders' transactions with Eurobonds

MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The purchase and sale of Ukrainian external government bonds (Ukrainian Eurobonds) will now be possible only on a 'delivery versus payment' basis through a central counterparty, in line with a Ukrainian National Securities and Stock Market Commission resolution adopted on Thursday.

Another precondition for depository institutions to conduct transactions to transfer rights to such bonds will be an order or notification from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Ukrainian media reported citing the commission's resolution regarding the specifics of transactions with Ukrainian Eurobonds during martial law, entering into force 30 calendar days after the date of its official publication.

The resolution also bans write-offs and other actions that remove Ukrainian Eurobonds from the depository accounting system.

Investment firms must bring the concluded but unfulfilled agreements (including repos and swaps) into compliance with the new rules, the resolution says.

At the same time, the new requirements do not apply to agreements to which banks acting on their own behalf and at their own expense are parties.

As reported, the NBU, with the support of the IMF, earlier urged the National Securities and Stock Market Commission to tighten oversight of traders' transactions with foreign securities and government bonds denominated in foreign currency, which the NBU believed were used to transfer foreign currency abroad. The commission had already introduced some amendments that effectively eliminated traders' advantages over banks.

According to the Settlement Center's data, during the week from April 6 to 10, 2026, the secondary market saw 106 transactions with external government bonds worth a total of UAH 513.2 million, compared to nearly 16,000 transactions with domestic government bonds worth UAH 34 billion.