Ukrainian banks earned UAH 95.50 billion in net profit in January-July 2025, which is 1.2% less than in the same period of 2024, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.
According to its data, net interest income increased by 14.3% to UAH 151.74 billion, and net commission income increased by 12% to UAH 35.41 billion.
At the same time, the result from the revaluation of government bonds and currency purchase and sale transactions decreased by 28.1% to UAH 17.24 billion, while total administrative expenses increased by 20.8% to UAH 72.24 billion, and other operating expenses by 15.5% to UAH 11.92 billion.
In addition, while banks increased their provisions by only UAH 0.38 billion in the first seven months of last year, they increased them by UAH 4.93 billion in the first seven months of this year.
In July, the net profit of Ukrainian banks amounted to UAH 14.42 billion, which is 1.9% worse than in July 2024. Although net interest income grew by 14.9% to UAH 22.84 billion and net commission income by 18.3% to UAH 5.30 billion, the result from the revaluation of domestic government bonds and foreign currency purchase and sale transactions fell threefold to UAH 1.77 billion.
Therefore, even the release of reserves in July in the amount of UAH 0.24 billion could not prevent a decrease in net profit compared to July last year.
In the overall structure of banks’ income and expenses for the first seven months of this year, the share of interest income increased to 70.8% from 68.7% last year, while the share of interest expenses decreased to 33.6% from 34.5%.
The share of commission income also increased in January-July this year to 21.3% from 21.0% in January-July last year, with the share of commission expenses decreasing to 14.5% from 15%.
At the same time, the share of total administrative expenses increased to 31.2% from 29.9%.
As reported, solvent banks in Ukraine received UAH 103.69 billion in net profit in 2024, which is 24.6% more than in 2023.
Last year, as in 2023, the corporate income tax rate for banks was increased retroactively to 50% for the entire year in the fall, while this year it is 25%.
Bank Lviv (Lviv) has signed agreements with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Investment Fund (EIF), the Belgian Development Organization for Developing Countries (BIO) and the Bank of the Council of Europe (CoE) totaling EUR 103 million, which will allow it to expand financing to the private sector through credit lines, guarantees and support for micro-entrepreneurs.
“Within the framework of international partnerships, Lviv Bank has signed four strategic agreements with international financial institutions – for a total of more than EUR100 million to support Ukrainian private companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs!” Volodymyr Kuzio, deputy chairman of the bank’s board, said on Facebook on Tuesday.
He noted that Lviv Bank has attracted EUR 60 million from the EIB in the form of a multi-currency credit line, including local currency financing, to improve access to finance for the private sector.
Another EUR 35 million was provided by the EIF in the form of portfolio guarantees, which will reduce collateral requirements for Ukrainian private sector clients to 70% and at the same time strengthen the capital of Bank Lviv.
In addition, the bank will receive EUR 5 million from the Belgian development organization BIO, the first transaction in the institution’s history in Ukraine.
Another EUR 3 million is being provided by the Council of Europe Development Bank to support micro-entrepreneurs across the country.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of April, Lviv Bank ranked 23rd in terms of total assets among 60 operating banks with UAH 14.8 billion, or 0.4% of the banking sector.
Ukrainian banks have started financing projects to install energy equipment with a total capacity of more than 639 MW worth UAH 17 billion from June 2024 to March 2025, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on its website on Thursday, based on a survey of 20 banks.
“Banks received 4,086 applications from businesses for lending to energy infrastructure restoration projects totaling UAH 83.9 billion and started financing such projects (provided loans and opened limits) in the amount of UAH 16.7 billion,” the central bank said.
According to the central bank, the total number of applications submitted in March increased to 207 from 194 in February. However, their volume decreased almost threefold – from UAH 6.7 billion to UAH 2.27 billion, although 95 applications worth UAH 2.28 billion were approved, compared to 70 applications in February worth UAH 0.75 billion.
The number of loans actually disbursed in March also increased – from 94 in February to 118 in March, and the total amount of funding disbursed increased from UAH 0.91 billion to UAH 2.6 billion.
The National Bank clarified that since June 2024, most of the funds have been allocated for the purchase and installation of gas-piston cogeneration units (260 MW), the construction of solar power plants (190 MW) and the purchase of diesel and gasoline generators (128 MW).
According to him, banks also lend to the population: since June 2024, 6,799 loans have been granted in the amount of UAH 936 million, and the gross portfolio of loans to individuals for these purposes, including repayments, is UAH 7189 million.
As reported, in June 2024, with the assistance of the NBU, 20 banks controlling more than 85% of the sector’s net assets signed a memorandum of understanding to finance energy recovery. The lending programs take into account the needs of SMEs and large businesses, as well as households. Businesses can receive financing for the construction of solar, wind, and biogas plants, gas turbine and gas piston power plants, and the purchase of industrial batteries and storage devices.
The base lending rate under the memorandum is 13.5% per annum (or UIRD3M + 0.5% for the first year of financing, and then no more than UIRD12M + 3%).
The net profit of Ukrainian banks in January this year amounted to UAH 16.3 billion, the best figure over the past 12 months, but it is 2.7%, or UAH 0.4 billion, less than in January 2024, the National Bank reported on its website.
According to the information, the banking system’s revenues in January of this year increased by UAH 3.4 billion, or 8.2%, to UAH 45.6 billion: interest income increased by UAH 2.7 billion, or 9.4%, to UAH 31.7 billion, while fees and commissions increased by UAH 0.9 billion, or 11.2%, to UAH 9.2 billion.
At the same time, expenses increased by UAH 3.9 billion, or 15.36%, to UAH 29.3 billion, which led to a decrease in net profit, according to the National Bank of Ukraine statistics. Among other things, interest expenses increased by UAH 0.4 billion, or 4.3%, to UAH 10.4 billion, while commission expenses increased by UAH 0.4 billion, or 13.5%, to UAH 4 billion.
Another factor behind the increase was general administrative expenses, which increased by UAH 1.6 billion, or 21.6%.
The strong financial result is also due to insignificant allocations to provisions, which amounted to less than UAH 0.1 billion in January.
Income tax for January this year amounted to UAH 3.4 billion, which is UAH 0.2 billion or 6.8% less than in January 2024.
According to preliminary data, solvent banks of Ukraine received UAH 103.69 billion in net profit last year, which is 24.6% more than in 2023, a result driven mainly by the growth of high-quality loans and investments in government bonds, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on its website on Wednesday evening.
“Loan yields stabilized in 2024, but their volumes continued to grow. Over the year, the net hryvnia loan portfolio of businesses grew by 21%, and that of households by almost 40%. An additional factor in maintaining the banks’ profitability in 2024 is the growth of investments in government bonds by 35% over the year,” the central bank said.
Thus, according to NBU statistics, the hryvnia loan portfolio of businesses increased to UAH 385.39 billion, and that of households to UAH 221.36 billion. At the same time, investments in domestic debt securities increased to UAH 884.09 billion (in all currencies).
“At the same time, the cost of funding for banks slightly decreased due to lower market deposit rates in the first half of 2024, so banks maintained a fairly high net interest margin,” the regulator emphasized.
Net fee and commission income of the banking system increased by 11.3% over the year. The NBU notes that in December 2024, for the first time since the full-scale war, its monthly volume reached the pre-war level. According to statistics, as of the beginning of 2025, the system’s net fee and commission income reached UAH 56.97 billion.
The high quality of the loan portfolio resulted in a low level of allocations to credit risk provisions. Thus, the volume of deductions almost halved last year to UAH 9.55 billion.
It is noted that despite the further increase in administrative expenses of banks, their operational efficiency remains high.
“At the end of 2024, only nine small banks out of 61 solvent banks were unprofitable with a total loss of UAH 418 million. These are mostly institutions with inefficient business models and a number of long-standing problems,” the NBU said.
Banks paid UAH 83.72 billion in income tax, up from UAH 76.64 billion in 2023. However, it is said that the final amount of taxes paid will be clear only after the annual audit of banks’ accounts.
“Preliminary estimates suggest that the return on equity in the sector will be around 30% in 2024. In general, the banking system remains profitable and sufficiently capitalized, and retains the ability to lend to the economy,” the regulator states.
At the same time, the agency points out that the second consecutive retrospective taxation of banks may affect the condition of some financial institutions. According to the central bank, some of them risk violating capital adequacy requirements after the final calculation and reporting of income tax.
“Maintaining profitability and implementing capitalization programs will allow financial institutions to restore capital. However, the uncertainty of tax policy may continue to deter banks from more active expansion of operations,” the NBU summarized.
In June-October 2024, Ukrainian banks financed 310 MW of generation facilities in 21 regions of the country, the Ministry of Energy reported, citing the results of a survey of banks conducted by the National Bank of Ukraine.
“The total amount of loans actually issued for the energy needs of legal entities is UAH 3.4 billion,” the statement said.
In addition, banks are reportedly lending to households. In particular, in October, 1 thousand loans totaling UAH 176 million were granted to individuals. The total gross portfolio of loans related to the energy needs of individuals increased to UAH 366 million.
According to the NBU, from June to October 2024, banks received a total of 2,927 thousand applications from businesses for loans to install energy equipment to strengthen energy independence, totaling UAH 66.2 billion. Of these, applications for UAH 11.7 billion were approved.
