Sberbank considers lending to Ukraine

Sberbank might consider lending to Ukraine if the latter fails to resume cooperation with the International Monetary Fund under its USD 15.5 bln stand-by program launched back in 2010, CEO German Gref said yesterday. The Ukrainian government has not applied for financing so far. Gref also said Sberbank is working with the Ukrainian government on raising new debt (likely as an underwriter).

Vitaliy Vavryshchuk: Ukrainian government intends to raise USD 2.7 bln in external funding this year (in addition to rolling a USD 2.0 bln loan from VTB), but might increase its external borrowing plan if liquidity in the local banking sector remains tough. We are confident the government will have several windows of opportunity to raise new debt this year and a loan from Sberbank is one option. Sberbank’s readiness to lend does not look like it is directly linked to any political issues or an outcome of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia gas talks and financing from the bank might come as a part of a a larger syndicated loan or Eurobond.