President vetoes bill on foreclosure moratorium based on erroneous item

President Zelensky vetoed a bill that prolongs a
moratorium on the foreclosure of individually owned property pledged under
foreign currency (FCY) mortgage loans till the end of 2021, the epravda.com.ua
news site reported on Aug. 17. The bill was approved by Ukraine’s parliament on July 16.
One of the bill’s items introduces a moratorium on the foreclosure of property
of borrowers under a loan agreement, without clarifying their profile. In the
president’s view, such an item would apply to any Ukrainian borrower under any
loan agreement (not only individual foreign currency mortgage loans), according
to his notes on the bill. Therefore, the president recommended excluding the
item.

The president also proposed for parliament to extend
the moratorium on the foreclosure of assets under FCY mortgage loans (that is
set to expire in late October 2020) for half a year, not for more than a year,
as is stipulated in the vetoed bill. The offered extension is explained by
economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alexander Paraschiy: We believe the item on asset foreclosures on any loans is the result
of poor preparation of legislation amid a rushed attempt by MP’s to adopt
populist bills during an election campaign. It is positive that the president’s
lawyers were able to find the mistake and not allow the bill to be signed into
law, thus bringing chaos into Ukraine’s entire financial system. Meanwhile, the
president’s offer to extend the moratorium for the expected duration of the
economic crisis is also justified.