Revenue of Ukrainian banks, not taking into account insolvent ones, in January and February 2019, totaled UAH 39.279 billion, which is 40.4% more than a year ago, according to a posting on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
Expenses of the banking system over the period accounted for UAH 30.588 billion, which is 27.5% more than a year ago.
Net profit of Ukrainian banks over the period came to UAH 8.691 billion, which is 2.2 times more than in January and February 2018.
The largest 25 Ukrainian banks (in terms of net assets) in January-September 2018 received a net profit of UAH 10.9 billion, which is 4.8 times more than in the same period of 2017. The best result was shown by PrivatBank, which received a net profit of UAH 5.093 billion against a net loss of UAH 1.604 billion a year earlier, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, which increased profit by 0.96%, to UAH 4.071 billion, and UkrSibbank, which saw profit rise by 2.2 times, to UAH 1.898 billion.
The loss in the reporting period was received by Sberbank with UAH 6.995 billion, VTB Bank with UAH 1.788 billion, Ukrsotsbank with UAH 839.465 million, and Prominvestbank (PIB) with UAH 108.26 million.
PrivatBank received the highest net interest income before allocations to reserves – UAH 10.717 billion (an increase of 2.63 times), Oschadbank got UAH 3.664 billion (a decrease of 10.34%), and UkrSibbank some UAH 2.771 billion (an increase of 46.77%).
In relative terms, the interest income of Ukrsotsbank rose most of all, by 2.68 times, to UAH 759.934 million.
However, if to consider the assets of the banks, OTP Bank turned out to be the most successful in the reporting period as its net interest margin for the reporting period was 6.62%, followed by Kredobank with 6.24% and FUIB with 6.01%.
Ukrainian banks maintain positive expectations regarding the growth of corporate lending, as well as lending to the population over the next 12 months, according to the Survey on Credit Conditions posted on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). According to the central bank, 76% of the banks surveyed expect an increase in the corporate loan portfolio over the next 12 months, with the corresponding expectations remaining for the sixth consecutive quarter. Some 69% of the polled banks expect the growth of lending to individuals, which is the highest percentage since the beginning of the survey in 2015.
In January-March, banks more actively than a quarter earlier approved applications for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and consumer loans, responding to the growth in demand.
“The revival of lending to the population and SMEs in the first quarter was positively influenced by the banks’ lowering interest rates and lengthening the terms of lending,” the NBU reported on the website.
Increased competition between the banks and non-banking institutions, as well as economic growth and a reduction in inflation expectations led to the softening by small banks of requirements for individual borrowers during the first quarter. At the same time, the banks, primarily large ones, raised requirements for collateral on business loans and tightened restrictions imposed by credit agreements, especially for large enterprises. Several large banks also reported an increase in demand for mortgage loans.
