The finalized version of the Ukrainian ISDA Master Agreement (“Ukrainian ISDA“) was officially published by the Independent Association of the Banks of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian ISDA is the Ukrainian law-governed template agreement for transactions with over-the-counter derivatives (i.e. derivatives which are not exchange-traded). It has been developed by Ukrainian market participants, professional associations and law firms with the support of the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project.
The Ukrainian ISDA largely follows the ISDA Master Agreements, internationally agreed standardized documents published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. Certain important concepts of the ISDA Master Agreements (for example, “single agreement” and “netting”) are reflected in the Ukrainian ISDA, with the necessary changes to align them with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation.
Using the Ukrainian ISDA will help market participants to reduce negotiating time and to achieve more certainty and consistency in OTC derivative transactions. This is the next step in the Ukrainian capital markets reform, which was launched in 2020 with the adoption of the new Capital Markets Law.
By Olexiy Soshenko, Managing Partner, and Olesia Mykhailenko, Senior Associate, Redcliffe Partners