Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The International Monetary Fund will decide on a $16.5 billion loan to Ukraine on Nov. 5, said Oleksandr Shlapak, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's first deputy chief of staff.

Ukraine may get the first tranche within two or three days after it is approved, Shlapak told reporters in Kiev today.

The former Soviet state joined Belarus, Hungary, and Iceland, in seeking IMF funds to support the national currency and keep banks from running out of cash as emerging market economies feel the pinch of the global economic crisis. Ukrainian Central bank Governor Volodymyr Stelmakh said on Oct. 29 the country may default if it doesn't get the aid.

The IMF reached a preliminary loan agreement with Ukraine on Oct. 26 on condition that the country's parliament set up a fund to buy stakes in banks and pass legislation that forces lenders to halt dividend payments to retain capital. The legislature approved the law on Oct. 31.

The central bank took control of closely held Prominvestbank on Oct. 7 and injected 5 billion hryvnias ($830 million) into the lender, the country's sixth-biggest bank by assets, after a run by depositors. The government may acquire a controlling stake in the bank by the end of this week, said Shlapak.

``The president insists that Prominvestbank's problem is solved by the end of the week or maybe even earlier,'' said Shlapak. The Finance Ministry will take shares in the bank in exchange for its treasuries, which will be sold to the central bank, said Shlapak.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at kchoursina@bloomberg.net Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 3, 2008 12:33 EST