Ukraine's IMF loan terms could be altered

In a statement released Friday, International Monetary Fund mission head Ceyla Pazarbasioglu hinted that the terms of the USD 16.4 bln standby loan facility agreement signed in Oct. 2008 could be altered, “The sharper-than-expected contraction in economic activity requires a recalibration of economic policies. In particular, the IMF team and the authorities have discussed potential revisions to the program’s balanced budget target for 2009, taking into account the availability of financing.” Pazarbasioglu said that discussions with Ukrainian authorities would continue in the coming weeks and the mission would return to Ukraine soon to complete negotiations. Petro Poroshenko, head of the National Bank of Ukraine’s council, said in an interview with the weekly Zerkalo Tyzhnya that the memorandum could be reviewed.