NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE (NBU) INTRODUCES FURTHER CHANGES
INTO INTERBANK FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE MARKET OPERATION

DLA Piper law firm, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, December 24, 2008

KYIV - On 18 December 2008 the National Bank of Ukraine ("NBU") issued another regulation aimed at controlling interbank foreign currency exchange market operations.

Under Regulation 435, which is effective from 22 December 2008, Ukrainian banks must perform foreign currency exchange transactions in the following stages within one banking day:

[1] Stage 1 (from 10 am to 2 pm) - a bank may buy foreign currency from its customers (excluding banks) to sell it to other customers who instructed the bank to buy such currency. All such transactions must be performed at an exchange rate agreed by the bank and its customers.

If the amount of foreign currency purchased by a bank during such a stage is insufficient to satisfy its customers' requirements (where the term 'customer'
excludes other banks), the bank must aggregate such amounts and bid in the afternoon session for its further requirements of such currency under the NBU's
reconciliation system called the NBU's System of Confirmation of Agreements. Excess amounts of foreign currency purchased by the banks during Stage 1 may be sold during Stage 2.

[2] tage 2 (from 2 pm to 4 pm) - banks may perform interbank currency exchange operations using the NBU's System of Confirmation of Agreements at an exchange rate agreed by the banks. Please note that a bank may either buy or sell a given foreign currency, but it may not act both as a buyer and a
seller of the same currency during one trading session (ie Stage 2).

The NBU has also required that if a bank's open position in a foreign currency exceeds a limit established by the NBU, such bank must sell its excess currency either to its customers or to other banks on the following banking day. If the bank fails to sell such excess currency, the bank must sell such excess currency to the NBU at the official exchange rate.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions on the above. Oleksandr Kurdydyk, Partner, oleksandr.kurdydyk@dlapiper.com;
Illya Muchnyk, Senior Associate, illya.muchnyk@dlapiper.com, www.dlapiper.com.

DLA Piper Ukraine LLC is part of DLA Piper, a global legal services organisation. International Law Firm of the Year 2008 in Ukraine. DLA Piper ranked 3rd in Financial Times Law 50 Innovative Lawyers 2008.

FOOTNOTE:  DLA Piper Ukraine LLC is a member of the the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.