State Mortgage Institution to sell UAH 1 bln in local bonds on May 14

The State Mortgage Institution will sell UAH 1 bln in local bonds at an auction on May 14, Deputy Finance Minister Igor Umanskiy said yesterday, according to Ukrainian News. The sale follows approval by the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday. The auction is set to take place on the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange. The State Mortgage Institution, which said back in February that it intended to place UAH 1 bln in local bonds this year, cancelled a planned UAH 1 bln bond auction on April 15 due to lack of claims. The State Mortgage Institution said it planned to provide Ukrainian banks with UAH 1.15 bln in refinancing to underwrite mortgages in 2009. The State Mortgage Institution is similar to the U.S.’s Fannie Mae, and was created by the Ukrainian government to facilitate mortgage lending. All the SMI bond issues have a quasi-sovereign status as they are guaranteed by the government.