Business news from Ukraine

Business news from Ukraine

Ukrainian banks increased loans by 2.6% and deposits by 0.9% in November

In November 2025, banks increased lending by 2.6%, or UAH 33.5 billion, to UAH 1 trillion 347.5 billion, and increased the deposit base by 0.9%, or UAH 27.1 billion, to UAH 2 trillion 982.1 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

According to the regulator, the main growth in the loan portfolio was provided by the corporate segment, where the volume of loans increased by 2.6%, or UAH 25.4 billion, to UAH 995.5 billion.

Hryvnia loans to businesses increased by 2.5%, or UAH 17.1 billion, to UAH 706.9 billion, while foreign currency loans increased by 2.4%, or $160 million, to $6.84 billion.

Households also increased their loans by 2.6%, or UAH 8.6 billion, to UAH 343.5 billion.

The increase in deposits in November is associated with an increase in the volume of deposits from individuals: hryvnia deposits grew by 1.1%, or UAH 14.9 billion, to UAH 1 trillion 355.5 billion, while foreign currency deposits increased by 0.9%, or $95 million, to $10.66 billion in dollar terms.

As for legal entities, their hryvnia deposits increased in November by 0.7%, or UAH 11.4 billion, to UAH 1 trillion 555.8 billion, while foreign currency deposits decreased by 5.9%, or $615 million, to $9.78 billion.

The National Bank noted that during the month, the dollar exchange rate rose to 42.1928 UAH/$1 from 41.9701 UAH/$1, with a historic low of 42.4015 UAH/$1 recorded on November 26.

Since the beginning of the year, the volume of hryvnia loans to legal entities has increased by 21.5%, and loans to the population – by 25.3%. As for foreign currency loans, businesses increased them by 13.7%, while the population reduced them by 11.1% – to $237 million.

Hryvnia deposits of legal entities have grown by 2.7% since the beginning of the year, while foreign currency deposits have decreased by 3.0%. The population has increased its hryvnia deposits by 14.0% over 11 months, and foreign currency deposits by 7.5%.

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Belgium sets condition for EU: independent guarantees for $210 billion loan to Ukraine

Belgium is demanding “independent” and “autonomous” guarantees from EU countries in exchange for its support for a loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, Euractiv reports.
The documents, which are currently being discussed by EU ambassadors, come amid frantic efforts by the bloc to persuade Belgium to back the so-called reparations loan ahead of a crucial European Council summit in Brussels next week.
Euroclear, a securities depository headquartered in Brussels, holds the vast majority of the EUR210 billion in frozen assets that will be used to support Kyiv’s military efforts, making Belgium a key player in the EU negotiations.
In a series of amendments to the Commission’s legal proposal, which was first circulated to EU ambassadors last week, Belgium notes that the guarantees must be “independent and autonomous so that they remain in force even if the loan is declared invalid.”
Other key Belgian demands include: other EU states covering potential legal costs that Moscow may claim from any member state; EU capitals refraining from concluding new investment agreements with Russia and cancelling all existing agreements; and a number of other measures to protect Belgium from potential reprisals by Moscow.
Luxembourg and Belgium signed a bilateral investment agreement with the then USSR in 1989, which has not been revoked to date.
In addition, it requires that Euroclear itself “not be liable” for providing the reparations loan, and that its “directors be liable only in cases of gross negligence.”
The Russian Central Bank announced that it would file a lawsuit against Euroclear in a Moscow court on Friday.
Belgium has repeatedly criticized the Commission for continuing with the loan program and has called on other EU countries to support the issuance of joint debt obligations instead. However, the latter option is currently being blocked by Hungary, which is also strongly opposed to the loan program.

 

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EIB to guarantee ProCredit Bank loans for Ukrainian businesses

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a project to provide ProCredit Bank (Kyiv) with a partial portfolio guarantee of EUR7 million, which will enable the financial institution to issue up to EUR35 million in loans to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

As stated on the EIB website, the guarantee is part of the EU4Business Guarantee Facility II program, which aims to improve lending conditions for businesses, in particular by reducing collateral requirements and lowering interest rates, thereby expanding access to finance for MSMEs in Ukraine.

As reported, EU4Business Guarantee Facility II is a program under which the EIB provides Ukrainian banks with partial portfolio guarantees to expand lending to MSMEs. Its goal is to simplify access to financing for these enterprises by improving loan conditions. The total volume of the program is estimated at EUR 300 million, of which EUR 40 million is EIB guarantees. The project was approved on May 5, 2025.

ProCredit Bank is part of the ProCredit Holding AG (Germany) banking group, which owns 100% of its shares. According to the National Bank, as of October 1 this year, it ranked 16th (UAH 44.68 billion) among 60 banks in Ukraine in terms of total assets.

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ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih plans to attract up to $200 mln in loans from EBRD

The Kryvyi Rih Mining and Metallurgical Plant PJSC ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (AMKR, Dnipropetrovsk region) intends to attract a loan of up to $200 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

According to the company, on November 26, 2025, the supervisory board of AMKR approved a significant transaction—securing a loan from the EBRD.

The market value of the property or services that are the subject of the transaction is determined in accordance with the law: no more than $200 million (UAH 8,480,300 thousand at the NBU exchange rate as of November 26, 2025). The value of the issuer’s assets, according to the latest annual financial statements, is UAH 51,725,655 thousand. The ratio of the market value of the property or services that are the subject of the transaction to the value of the issuer’s assets, according to the latest annual financial statements (in percent) is 16.3947658082%.

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih is the largest producer of rolled steel in Ukraine. It specializes in the production of long products, in particular, rebar and wire rod. The company has a full production cycle, with production capacities designed for an annual output of over 6 million tons of steel, more than 5 million tons of rolled products, and over 5.5 million tons of pig iron.

ArcelorMittal owns Ukraine’s largest mining and metallurgical complex, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, and a number of small companies, including ArcelorMittal Beryslav.

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Oschadbank leads business loan market

In October 2025, Oschadbank increased its portfolio of loans to legal entities by UAH 4.2 billion, which, according to its data, is the largest increase among Ukrainian banks, according to a release on the financial institution’s website.

Oschadbank noted that the total volume of its loan portfolio to legal entities as of October 1 this year amounted to UAH 99 billion, of which UAH 30 billion were loans to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, with the remainder going to corporate businesses.

As noted in the release with reference to the National Bank’s data, Oschadbank’s net portfolio at the beginning of October accounted for 13.6% of the corporate lending market, securing its leading position.

“During the full-scale invasion, Oschadbank has been directing its free liquidity to support the real sector of the economy, and during this period, the corporate business loan portfolio has grown more than one and a half times, or by UAH 23.5 billion, with this segment accounting for 70% of the corporate portfolio,” said Yuriy Katsion, deputy chairman of the bank’s board, who is responsible for this area, in a press release.

As reported, in October 2025, the corporate segment’s loan portfolio grew by 2.6%, or UAH 26.9 billion, to UAH 970.1 billion. Hryvnia loans to businesses added 1.7%, or UAH 11.5 billion, reaching UAH 689.7 billion, while foreign currency loans increased by 4.2%, or $267 million, to $6.68 billion.

According to the NBU, at the beginning of October this year, Oschadbank, with total assets of UAH 485.69 billion (12.3% of the total), was second among 60 banks in terms of this indicator.

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EBRD guarantees EVA loan of EUR3.1 mln

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a risk-sharing guarantee without financing in the amount of UAH150 million (EUR3.1 million) to cover half of the loan issued by Ukrsibbank to retailer EVA for the development of its logistics hubs, the company’s press service reported.

“This agreement is an important milestone for EVA and our first experience of cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. We underwent a thorough analysis by the EBRD, which confirmed EVA’s financial stability, the compliance of our activities with the criteria of Ukrsibbank and the EBRD for borrowers, and the recognition of our company as a reliable partner capable of developing its business even in wartime,” said Lilia Volenko, CFO of Rush LLC (EVA and eva.ua network), in a press release.

It is noted that this agreement was the first time the bank used the EBRD’s risk-sharing program (individual investment loan guarantee) to provide an investment loan to a corporate client. Previously, risk sharing rules allowed the bank to share risks only for working capital financing transactions.

According to Volenko, this agreement is a signal to the market about the possibility of attracting long-term financing with the support of international institutions in wartime.

Rush LLC, which manages the EVA chain, was founded in 2002. The chain has over 1,100 stores.

According to YouControl, the owner of Rush LLC is listed as Cyprus-based Incetera Holdings Limited (100%), with Ruslan Shostak and Valery Kiptik as the ultimate beneficiaries.

At the end of the third quarter of 2025, Rush’s net income increased by 18.6% compared to the same period last year, reaching UAH 22.9 billion. Net profit decreased by 14.7% to UAH 1.7 billion.

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