Ukraine central bank: emergency IMF package could go partly into state budget

Ukraine is negotiating an emergency package from the International Monetary Fund to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus, and some of the money may go into the state budget, Central Bank Governor Yakiv Smoliy said on Friday. Allowing money to flow directly into the state budget would be a departure from recent IMF loan deals, which were used to build up the central bank's foreign exchange reserves.

It was too early to say what the size of the emergency package would be, Smoliy said, adding that its conditions would be separate to a previously agreed $5.5 billion deal agreed in December, which Ukraine's government also wants to finalise.