In early April, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) applied to the Cabinet of Ministers with the next developments in order to increase business lending: to expand the portfolio guarantee program for large agricultural enterprises and large enterprises from strategic industries, as well as to increase the term of lending to farmers for the sowing season from six months to a year.
“And if businesses have additional proposals, we urge them to share them with the European Business Association (EBA), we will transfer them to the National Bank,” the EBA said on its website following a meeting with the National Bank this week, which was also attended by the American Chamber of Commerce.
As one of the meeting participants specified to the Interfax-Ukraine agency, among other NBU proposals to the government are the expansion of state support for credit lines, financial leasing, avalized bills, as well as an increase in portfolio guarantees from 80% to 100% of the amount of loans for “red” zones, where the fighting is taking place.
The NBU leadership also said at the meeting that the plans of banks for the second quarter include lending to Ukrainian enterprises for almost UAH 66 billion, including UAH 30 billion for the agricultural industry in the near future, of which UAH 5.8 billion has already been allocated.
The National Bank clarified that since the beginning of the war, the four largest banks have shown an increase in their loan portfolio by UAH 12.5 billion.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, the government has previously criticized the banking system for its unwillingness to take on lending risks, especially in the “red” zones, and proposes to solve this problem in state-owned banks by setting special kpi. In addition, the Ministry of Economy is discussing the idea of appointing a special deputy minister who would oversee this issue, and appointing the former head of the board of Ukreximbank Yevgeny Metsger to this position.
