JSC OTP BANK has received a second grant from the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project to expand access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. More than 100 companies have already been financed under the first tranche. The new tranche of $2.76 million will bring the total grant amount to $4 million. The funds will be used to offset part of the interest rate for borrowing companies.
The grant program stipulates that the bank will lend to businesses at an interest rate of 9.9% per annum in the first year of the loan agreement. The difference between the rate for clients and the market rate will be compensated by grant funds. In the second and subsequent years, clients will pay interest on the use of credit funds at the rate of UIRD3m + 5% per annum (UIRD3m is the Ukrainian index of rates for three-month retail deposits).
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with an annual income of up to EUR 50 million and up to 250 employees belonging to one of the following target groups will be able to receive financing on favorable terms from OTP Bank
– relocated businesses or those affected by military operations
– companies belonging to critical economic sectors (agricultural production, production of building materials, electrical devices, transportation, logistics, processing, etc;)
– companies co-owned by women.
“The project started cooperation with OTP Bank under this grant program in September 2023. The results of our partnership are significant. During this time, more than 100 companies have received financing from the bank for almost UAH 550 million at a compensated interest rate. The objectives of the second stage of the program are even more ambitious – to provide access to financing and compensate the interest rate to more than 330 enterprises. We believe that such business support will contribute to the recovery of Ukraine’s economy, which is suffering tremendously from the war,” said Raphael Jabba, USAID Business Resilience Investment Project Chief of Party.
The maximum loan amount that a company or a united group of companies can receive under this program is UAH 20 million, and the minimum is UAH 1 million.
The grant program also applies to factoring agreements, under which the bank’s clients can receive up to 90% of the cost of supplies in the amount of UAH 2 million to UAH 20 million.
Special conditions will apply to agricultural producers if they use the funds received under the grant program to purchase products from OTP Agro Factory’s partners.
“The cooperation between OTP Bank and the USAID Business Sustainability Investment Project continues, and it means a lot to us. The bank has proven to be a reliable and efficient partner, time-tested, and one that fulfills its obligations flawlessly. The grant is extremely important for Ukraine and its economy, which is under incredible pressure in the context of the war. Thanks to this program, businesses in critical industries will receive much-needed support, companies affected by the war will be able to recover, and women entrepreneurs will receive an additional incentive to develop their business,” said Volodymyr Mudryi, CEO of OTP Bank.
During the first stage of the program, which began in 2023, more than 100 Ukrainian enterprises were provided with financing. Among them were companies from the agricultural sector, businesses dominated by women in the management team, as well as enterprises from critical sectors of the economy and those that were forced to relocate production due to the war. In addition, as part of the program, representatives of MSMEs used factoring services on favorable terms.
About the USAID Project “Invest for Business Resilience”
The USAID Investment for Business Resilience (IBR) Project is a five-year program implemented by DAI Global that supports systemic changes in Ukraine’s economy and increases the supply of financing available to Ukrainian businesses. The IBR project aims to transform the country’s financial sector into a well-functioning and competitive market that meets European Union standards and is integrated into international financial systems, while directly providing financing to businesses to ensure sustainable economic growth in Ukraine.
For more information on USAID IBR’s activities in Ukraine, please visit the USAID IBR Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/IBRUAproject
About OTP BANK
JSC OTP BANK is one of the largest Ukrainian banks with foreign capital, which is a recognized leader in the country’s financial sector. It has been present on the market since 1998 and has a strong reputation as a socially responsible, reliable and stable structure offering European quality services to its customers. The bank provides a full range of financial services to corporate and private clients, as well as small and medium-sized businesses.
Since 2019, according to the decision of the NBU, OTP Bank has been included in the list of systemically important banks of Ukraine, which have a significant impact on the development of the country’s financial system.
In Ukraine, JSC OTP BANK is the flagship of the OTP banking group registered by the National Bank of Ukraine, which also includes OTP Capital AMC LLC, OTP Leasing LLC, Freefly non-state pension fund and OTP Pension open pension fund.
Since the beginning of 2024, the clients of JSC OTP BANK – individuals – have purchased domestic government bonds for a total amount of UAH 3.1 billion.
The number of transactions in the first half of the year amounted to 1897, which is 137% more than in the same period of 2023.
Investments in domestic government bonds in 2024 were made in two ways: customers purchased bonds directly at auctions of the Ministry of Finance through the OTP Bank UA app or from the Bank’s own portfolio, also using the app.
During the first and second quarters, securities totaling UAH 2.8 billion in equivalent were purchased at the Ministry of Finance auctions.
Total sales from the Bank’s portfolio by the end of the second quarter amounted to UAH 305 million in equivalent.
We remind you that the service for purchasing government bonds from its own portfolio in the OTP Bank UA application was launched two months ago, at the end of May 2024.
“Investing in domestic government bonds is not only an opportunity to support Ukraine’s financial stability in times of war, but also a good opportunity to diversify your savings and earn additional income in both hryvnia and foreign currency. Moreover, the repayment of funds is fully guaranteed by the state, so it is also a guarantee of the safety of savings. We offer our customers different ways to invest – they can buy government bonds directly from the auction or at any convenient time from the Bank’s portfolio, with the best rate, maturity, in the chosen currency, 24/7,” said Valeria Ovcharuk, product owner of OTP BANK.
In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, OTP Bank’s individual clients have invested more than UAH 11.5 billion in government bonds in equivalent.
To learn more about investing in government bonds through the OTP Bank UA app, please follow the link.
OTP BANK JSC fills most of its managerial vacancies with internal candidates who were able to reveal themselves and realize their professional potential, said Kristina Feher, HR Director of OTP Bank, during a roundtable discussion on the personnel situation in the market organized by the Financial Club.
“Our internal growth programs are working effectively. Almost 70% of vacancies for managerial positions at the head office and in the branch network are filled by employees who develop, join training, and reveal their leadership qualities. We implement projects that allow our colleagues to delve deeper into the competencies they need, share experiences with other team members, and present their best practices. For example, we have mentoring programs from top management, as well as the Reading Club and the OTP Cinema Club, which combine the formats of interactive discussions of books and movies, thinking out of the box, and joint analysis of various success stories. And to share best practices within the company, we have been organizing Demo Day for several years in a row – an event for product teams that present new initiatives and solutions to all employees of the Bank,” said K. Feher.
According to her, OTP BANK is a financial institution with a strong team of professionals, which also gives young people without work experience the opportunity to prove themselves. “I believe that young staff is one of the key resources.
We fruitfully cooperate with 27 Ukrainian universities and twice a year we engage students for internships or training. Many of them stay with the Bank afterwards. In the first half of 2024, we started cooperation with 120 students, whom we will train over the coming months. Currently, there are 80 vacancies in the branch network, so we see an opportunity to close some of them through cooperation with talented young people. I can say that this approach is effective in our company,” added the HR Director.
The bank creates an environment in which employees feel protected and have the opportunity to realize themselves professionally. The staff is encouraged to develop and grow professionally, comfortable working conditions are created, and opportunities to be involved in work processes are provided. In addition, OTP BANK offers a flexible schedule, options to work remotely or in a hybrid format, as well as other individual approaches. “We remain as flexible as possible, so people can choose the format that they consider to be the most convenient and safe for organizing their working day,” said Kristina Feher.
According to the HR Director of OTP BANK, this has a positive effect. Employees appreciate reliability and stability, so the percentage of staff outflow is insignificant. Staff turnover in the first half of 2024 was less than 8%. At the same time, the Bank continues to actively develop various business lines, attract new specialists and implement initiatives that help it to be one of the leading companies in the financial market.
JSC “OTP BANK” offers Ukrainian enterprises a number of loan programs that will allow them to become energy independent and ensure uninterrupted business operation in the face of electricity shortages. This was stated by Valeriy Terno, Head of Sales to Medium Corporate Clients at OTP Bank, during a roundtable discussion on energy independence organized by the Financial Club.
“The bank has set itself the goal of stimulating the development of the market for energy-independent solutions and providing support to businesses in financing such projects. We prepare optimal offers and favorable conditions for each client. We are talking about low interest rates and the possibility of implementing them under government programs, as well as cashback, and with additional guarantees from the state, the EBRD, and other institutional investors, we will be able to further expand the decision-making criteria for implementing certain projects. We already have successful cases in this direction,” said Mr. Terno.
In particular, small and medium-sized businesses can count on financial support from OTP Bank under the program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%”, which is being implemented by the government at the initiative of the President of Ukraine through the Entrepreneurship Development Fund.
Also, the joint program with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development allows us to offer investment loans to SMEs with the possibility of compensating part of the costs financed by the Bank’s credit funds. This loan can be used for long-term investments in green technologies (energy-efficient equipment, solar panels for power plants to meet their own needs) that meet European Union standards and will help increase the competitiveness of enterprises in domestic and foreign markets. After the implementation of the projects, customers will be able to apply for investment incentives (cash compensation, cashback).
“By installing solar panels or other elements, including gas turbine or gas piston stations, entrepreneurs will be able not only to ensure their own energy independence but also to sell the remaining energy produced to the grid, thereby contributing to the country’s energy security,” added the Head of Sales to Medium Corporate Clients at OTP Bank.
JSC OTP BANK applies various mechanisms to make credit products available and interesting for as many business clients as possible. This was stated by Alla Biniashvili, Member of the Management Board of the Bank, in her speech at the international industry conference Grain Ukraine.
She reminded that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the corporate portfolio of Ukrainian banks has decreased by 20%, so now banking institutions are using various methods to resume lending to the economy.
According to Alla Biniashvili, an important advantage of OTP Bank is its systematic cooperation with international organizations that offer risk-sharing or provide grant programs for business. In particular, with the EBRD, with which the Bank has entered into an unfunded agreement on portfolio risk sharing totaling EUR 120 million, and with the USAID Project “Investments for Business Resilience”, which allowed financing Ukrainian enterprises for more than UAH 500 million at a preferential rate of 7%.
“We carefully study risks as a responsible bank, but at the same time, we understand the current situation and see the conditions in which business operates. And thanks to risk-sharing with the EBRD, we can finance different clients. As part of its cooperation with the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project, the Bank provides loans at preferential rates. So we have opportunities, and this is our distinctive advantage,” emphasized Alla Biniashvili.
She noted that OTP BANK has been actively applying positive international experience throughout its activities, and thanks to cooperation with the International Financial Corporation (IFC), in 2017 created a unique scoring project called Agro Factory. “Back then, we studied the pains and fears of small companies, in particular, they wanted to receive decisions quickly, submit a minimum package of documents, etc. We met all their requirements within Agro Fabrika. We make decisions within a business day and disburse funds within a week at the most, because after all, providing financing is a dance for two, and there is a need to obtain certain documents. For agricultural producers, we offer loans of up to UAH 5 million without any collateral at all, and up to UAH 20 million secured by financial agricultural receipts,” said the member of the Bank’s Management Board.
She emphasized that OTP BANK successfully cooperates with well-known international and Ukrainian partner companies, including manufacturers of seeds, plant protection products, fertilizers, etc. within the Agro Factory project. “If a bank customer buys goods from them, they compensate us for the difference in interest rate, so we can provide a very interesting loan offer at 0.1%, which is difficult to find on the market in the usual way. Agrarian business is in the center of our attention, and 50% of loans in the total loan portfolio of OTP Bank are financing of the agricultural industry,” she said.
On May 30, 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine together with the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine launches the All-Ukrainian information campaign on payment security #CybersecurityFinance.
Its goal is to raise public awareness of payment security and develop skills to protect financial data in the virtual space.
Today’s full-scale war continues not only on the battlefield, but also in cyberspace, with an increase in cyberfraud and cybercrime.
At the end of last year, the NBU, with the support of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project, conducted the first nationally representative survey of the Ukrainian population on payment security and fraud prevention rules. The survey was aimed at determining the level of knowledge of Ukrainians in the field of payment security and identifying gaps in this area. The NBU uses the results of the survey to develop educational products for different age groups and to improve the effectiveness of information campaigns to combat payment and cyber fraud (they are not published to avoid the possibility of fraudsters using them).
Social engineering has traditionally remained the most popular method of payment card fraud in Ukraine, as well as globally. At the same time, a significant amount of cyber fraud last year was related to phishing. By using phishing resources (stylized as government portals and information resources of Ukrainian banks and payment services) and deceiving citizens, the attackers tried to gain access to their personal data, information about their payment instruments, financial phone numbers, and account balances.
Therefore, improving citizens’ knowledge and skills in this area will enable them to use cashless payments more cautiously and protect themselves from fraudulent schemes and traps in the virtual space.
“Almost a quarter of financial services users (26%) have faced payment fraud attempts, and 3% of them have lost money. It is clear that more active consumers, who use the Internet and Internet banking more often and make online purchases, are more likely to be targeted by fraudsters. Therefore, everyone, even experienced users, should improve their cybersecurity knowledge. In particular, it is imperative to increase personal cyber awareness of the rules for securing accounts, moderating the use of public Wi-Fi, and analyzing unfamiliar resources for making purchases. Thanks to this campaign, the NBU and its partners will raise awareness among Ukrainians to further develop a safe culture of public behavior in the virtual space,” said Oleksiy Shaban, Deputy Governor of the NBU.
“The cybersecurity of our country is not only the security of state information resources, systems, and databases. Although most cyberattacks now have a political, or rather military-political, component, the activities of financially motivated hackers also continue to pose a threat. Therefore, we must continue to work to raise awareness of all Ukrainian citizens on how to protect themselves from the activities of cyber fraudsters who seek to steal your data and, as a result, money,” said Yurii Myronenko, Head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine.
“The results of a nationally representative survey of the population, conducted with the support of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project, showed that more than a quarter of financial services users have faced payment fraud attempts at least once, and some have suffered from it. A large share of them are more active consumers who use online shopping, paid online services and remote banking more often. The rapid development of technology is contributing to the spread of fraud, especially in times of war, and making it more difficult to detect. Therefore, measures to raise public awareness of payment security and relevant information and training campaigns should be regular and nationwide. Our Project was pleased to support the survey and the NBU’s campaign to combat payment fraud #CybersecurityFinance,” said Yulia Vitka, acting manager of the USAID Investment for Business Resilience Project.
JSC OTP BANK supported the information campaign aimed at raising public awareness of payment security and financial protection in the virtual space.
“The number of cyber incidents in Ukraine and the world is constantly growing. Fraudsters are using any available means and the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, to deceive as many people as possible and enrich themselves illegally. In such a situation, banking institutions, to which citizens entrust their savings, feel an increased responsibility to society. OTP BANK makes every effort to ensure that customers’ money is safe – for this purpose, we transfer data to the cloud and strengthen security systems. And in order to neutralize the human factor, in particular on the part of users of banking services, we consistently participate in information campaigns of the National Bank of Ukraine aimed at improving the financial literacy of Ukrainians, developing their skills and abilities that will help protect funds from fraudsters and cybercriminals,” said Oleg Klymenko, member of the Board of OTP Bank responsible for retail business development.
During the campaign, the National Bank, together with its partners, will explain to financial services consumers the basic elements of cybersecurity on the following issues:
● how to protect their accounts, computers, smartphones, and other devices from external interference
● how to create complex and unique passwords
● how to set up multi-factor authentication;
● how to check websites where users enter their payment data and files, mobile applications and other programs before downloading them;
● how to properly use public and home Wi-Fi networks;
● how to take care of the software on their own devices and other rules of safe behavior in the virtual space.
The information campaign will run until the end of September 2024 in all regions of Ukraine. As part of the campaign, the NBU is launching a special webpage (landing page) “Cybersecurity of Finance” with detailed information about the campaign and rules of conduct in the virtual space.
For reference.
The NBU is conducting the All-Ukrainian Information Campaign on Payment Security #CybersecurityFinance together with the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, as well as with the support of the USAID Business Resilience Investment Project.
General partners: Department of Cyber Police of the National Police of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Free Legal Aid, Ministry of Social Policy, General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, State Employment Center, PROSTIR, Portmone, Kyivstar, Lifecell, OLX.ua, Viasat, MEGOGO Education, GOITeens, ESET.
Media partners: PrivatBank, Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, Raiffeisen Bank, Ukrgasbank, FUIB, Ukrsibbank, SENS BANK, Credit Agricole Bank, OTP Bank, Kredobank, ProCredit Bank, Tascombank, A-Bank, Bank Credit Dnipro, Accordbank, MTB Bank, International Investment Bank, Bank Globus, Pravex Bank, Cominbank, Piraeus Bank, Radabank, Bank Clearing House, Agroprosperis Bank, Unex Bank, Bank for Investment and Savings, Grant Bank, Ukrainian Capital Bank, Creditwest Bank, Crystal Bank, Motor Bank, Polikombank, Ukrainian Bank for Reconstruction and Development, First Investment Bank, Trust Capital Bank, Bank Portal, BTA Bank, NABU, Mastercard, YASNO – a supplier of electricity, gas and energy efficiency solutions, Foxtrot, Epicenter, Eldorado, Opendatabot, EasyPay, city24, WOG, SOCAR, Amic Energy, Shell, Softkey, Maxnet, TENET, NGO “Vsad “IT-babushki” , King Cross Leopolis (Lviv), Megamall (Vinnytsia), Karavan (Dnipro), Dafi (Dnipro), Ornava (Ternopil), Woodmall (Khmelnytskyi), Concord (Poltava), Dafi (Kharkiv), Hollywood (Chernihiv), Avenir Plaza (Bucha), Ocean Plaza (Kyiv).
