The National Bank is considering pegging the hryvnia to the euro: economists doubt the significance of the changes
4 December 15:10
ANALYSIS
The National Bank of Ukraine is considering the idea of pegging the hryvnia to the euro, and this may happen “in the near future.” Komersant ukrainskyi asked economic experts what Ukrainians should expect from such changes.
“Absolutely technical change”
Economist Oleh Hetman is convinced that this initiative is only declarative and does not bring tangible changes.
“This is a minor technical change that an ordinary Ukrainian should not even think about. The currencies will not go anywhere, they will remain in cash and non-cash accounting as they have been. The dollar’s share in payments will remain as it has been. The only thing is that the euro will be the anchor, and the dollar will fluctuate accordingly. Now it is fluctuating on the contrary,”
– the expert explains in an exclusive commentary for .
Follow us on Telegram: the main news in brief
According to Hetman, pegging to the euro reflects Ukraine’s European aspirations rather than real economic changes.
“We are only declaring our European aspirations, our commitment to the European course. Nothing else will change for anyone. We are not abandoning the dollar in this way – the euro will simply be the anchor,”
– oleg Hetman assures.
“The initiative makes no sense”
Economic expert Oleh Pendzin is even harsher on the initiative and calls it “absolute nonsense.”
“In my opinion, this is absolute nonsense. We already compare our exchange rate with the dollar and the euro. I mean, I don’t see any contradictions or any problems in this regard,”
– Pendzin said.
According to him, the hryvnia exchange rate is currently formed on the basis of interbank trading, not pegged to a specific currency.
“By and large, it doesn’t matter what currency you have your funds in today. It is an absolutely freely convertible currency. The euro-dollar pair has its own quoting features, but it doesn’t matter what we are connected to. Go to any exchanger and you will see the rate in dollars and the rate in euros,”
– adds Oleg Pendzin.
Both experts agree that the initiative does not mean abandoning the dollar as one of the key currencies. In other words, this transition is likely to remain just a technical step without any real changes in Ukraine’s financial system. However, it could be a gesture toward European integration for the National Bank.
