The International Monetary Fund is planning to amend its lending policy as existing rules may not allow the fund to continue with financial support for Ukraine. The main reason for Ukraine to be eliminated from the bailout program is the fund’s policy which prohibits lending to countries with overdue debts. Ukraine has a huge debt to Russia with a looming risk of default on these eurobonds. According to the established rules, the IMF should stop providing financial aid or change the named rules. In case of Ukraine, the fund chose to go the second way. The IMF’s executive board will probably take the decision to change the existing lending policy in the nearest future. It is more likely to happen after a G20 leaders' meeting in Turkey later this month. “Russian recalcitrance on Ukraine’s debt prompted IMF officials to accelerate the more formal review of the policy,” the sources in the fund said. It is worth saying that the IMF has been talking about changes in its policy for years, and the current situation in Ukraine accelerated the process. The IMF’s executive board approved a four year loan program for Ukraine in March. In the framework of the program, the fund will allocate 17.5 billion US dollars, while other lending institutions will provide 40 billion in four years. The Ukrainian government has already received 6.7 billion dollars from 10 billion planned for 2015. By the end of the year, Ukraine will be allocated 3.4 billion dollars divided into two tranches of 1.7 billion.
