Business news from Ukraine

Oschadbank has increased the loan portfolio of the agribusiness and agricultural trade sector by 91% since the beginning of 2022 and doubled the number of clients, the state bank said on Wednesday.

“As of today, Oschadbank occupies about 14% of the market of working loans of the agrarian sector,” the press release said.

According to Yuriy Katsion, deputy head of the bank’s board responsible for corporate business, such a rapid increase is caused by the objective need of businesses to attract external financing, which is related to losses caused by the war and the unpreparedness of many commercial banks and international organizations, unlike the state bank, to lend during the war without insurance guarantees.

Katsion also stressed the importance of state support for the agricultural sector during a full-scale war, particularly through the introduction of state guarantees, the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” program, and support for exporters through ECAs.

According to Oschadbank, the agribusiness sector leads in lending from the banking sector: the volume of working loans as of April 1, 2023 exceeds UAH 144 billion, or 31.2% of the total loan portfolio. Wholesale trade (21.6%) and energy (10.5%) follow.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of June 1, 2023, Oschadbank ranked 2nd in terms of assets (UAH 313.65 billion) among 65 banks operating in the country, and as of midtin this year had the largest number of branches in the country – 1183.