As of the end of June, state-owned Oschadbank had formed a pipeline of 32 municipal projects with a total value of EUR74 million, according to Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, a member of the bank’s board responsible for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) in Gdańsk.
Of these, 26 projects are planned for small towns and villages in the small and medium-sized business segment, while another six are for large regional centers in the corporate segment.
The projects focus, in particular, on modernizing water supply and wastewater systems, upgrading public transportation and municipal infrastructure, improving the energy efficiency of buildings, restoring social facilities, and strengthening the energy resilience of communities.
According to Butkova-Vitvitskaya, one of the main constraints on municipal financing remains the inadequate preparation of projects. Communities need technical assistance in developing feasibility studies, conducting energy audits, assessing ESG risks, and preparing projects for bank financing.
She believes that international risk-sharing mechanisms for infrastructure and energy projects should be designed for a term of at least 10 years, while financing for communities should be available for up to 20 years.
Among other necessary measures, the Oschadbank representative cited the simplification of procurement procedures, the expansion of grant programs, the provision of guarantees by the government and international financial organizations, and training for municipal teams.
According to the bank, about 1,000 of more than 1,400 Ukrainian communities are creditworthy. The total volume of municipal borrowing in recent years has reached nearly EUR2.7 billion, of which EUR1.1 billion came from the domestic market and over EUR1.6 billion from international financial organizations.
Oschadbank estimates its share of the municipal lending market at approximately 39%.
According to the National Bank, as of May 1, 2026, Oschadbank, with total assets of 534.47 billion UAH, ranked second among the country’s 58 solvent banks.
The French Development Agency (AFD) will provide state-controlled Ukrgazbank with a EUR25 million credit line, EUR10 million in loan guarantees, and up to EUR10 million in grants and technical assistance to enable the bank to continue financing Ukrainian municipalities.
A letter of intent to that effect was signed on Wednesday in Gdańsk on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC 2026) at an event organized by Ukrgasbank and Deloitte titled “Strategic Cooperation for Ukraine’s Prosperity: Joining Forces of the State, the Private Sector, and Donors to Promote Recovery,” reports a correspondent for the “Interfax-Ukraine” news agency.
“Thanks to the vital support from the European Commission, we are developing a new financial aid package. These funds will be directed directly to our local municipalities and cities. This will help communities affected by the war to rebuild, recover, and remain strong,” commented Rodion Morozov, acting chairman of the board of Ukrgasbank, on the signed document.
According to him, a significant portion of this funding will be directed toward financing municipal energy projects.
Ukrgazbank, 94.94% of whose shares are owned by the Ministry of Finance, ranked sixth among Ukrainian banks as of May 1, 2026, with total assets of 238.82 billion UAH.
