Non-bank financial institutions signed financial leasing agreements for around UAH 26.3 billion in 2019, which is 18.3% or UAH 4 billion more than in 2018, a member of the National Commission for Financial Service Markets of Ukraine Oleksandr Zaletov has told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, over the year the number of concluded financial leasing agreements increased 50%, or by 5,200 documents, and amounted to about 15,500 agreements.
According to Zaletov, a significant increase in financial leasing was mainly thanks to increased financing of these operations through bank loans, funds from international financial institutions and the issuance of debt securities by lessors. In particular, the volume of attracted loans at the end of 2019 amounted to UAH 5.8 billion, which is 20%, or UAH 962 million, more than in the previous year. The corporate bond issue amounted to UAH 254 million (70.9%, or UAH 105 million more). Funds of international financial institutions invested in the financial leasing market amounted to UAH 496 million.
Zaletov named deregulation in this market as another factor in the growth of financial leasing, which contributed to the influx of capital, including foreign one. So, according to the decisions of the National Commission, not only financial institutions, but also other licensed legal entities can be involved in financial leasing transactions.
As of the end of 2019, there were 439 financial institutions in Ukraine authorized to provide financial services. They account for 6.1% of the volume of this market. The remaining 93.9% are 113 legal entities that are not financial institutions, but have received a license to provide financial services. At the same time, share of the 20 largest legal entities-lessors is 93.4%. The largest growth in the provision of financial leasing services by legal entities-lessors in 2019 was in the following categories: natural persons – 149.7%, individual entrepreneurs – 61.4%, and legal entities – 16%.
