The National Bank of Ukraine is expanding the list of benchmark domestic government debt securities (benchmark bonds) that the banks have been allowed to use to partially meet the reserve requirements. As of 20 August 2025, the domestic government debt securities identified as (ISIN) UA4000236632, which were first placed by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on 5 August 2025, will be added to the benchmark bonds list.
This measure is to stimulate banks’ activity at Ministry of Finance’s auctions to place domestic government debt securities, which is essential for ensuring that the state budget is financed without resorting to monetary financing.
As previously reported, the banks have been able to use the securities on the benchmark bonds list to meet up to 60% of the reserve requirements. The benchmark bonds list is made by the NBU based on the proposals of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine.
From 20 August 2025, it will include 18 issues of securities, namely: UA4000227201, UA4000227490, UA4000228043, UA4000228381, UA4000228381, UA4000228811 UA4000229116, UA4000232607, UA4000232615, UA4000232896, UA4000232912, UA4000233613, UA4000234140, UA4000234553, UA4000234934, UA4000235642, UA4000236418 and the new UA4000236632.
The updated list of benchmark bonds the banks have been allowed to use to meet in part the reserve requirement was approved by NBU Board Decision No. 283 On Amendments to NBU Board Decision No. 752 dated 23 November 2017, dated 19 August 2025, to be enacted on 20 August 2025.
Reserve requirements are one of the instruments conventionally used by central banks. This is how reserve requirements operate: a bank sets aside in its correspondent account with the central bank an amount of funds identified as a percentage of the bank’s liabilities (also known as reserve ratio). The amount is calculated as an average over the reserve period.
This allows the bank to smooth out potential ad-hoc fluctuations in liquidity and ensure the effective use of reserve requirements for their primary purpose, which is to absorb some of the banking system’s free liquidity.
The banks are allowed to cover a portion of required reserves with benchmark bonds in order to increase the effectiveness of money market regulation and avoid monetary financing of the budget deficit.
Full information on the amount of reserve requirements formed by banks is available here.