The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing OTP Leasing with an unsecured loan in local currency equivalent to up to EUR 20 million to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) affected by the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine.
“The financing will help strengthen the competitiveness, resilience, and inclusiveness of Ukrainian MSMEs by expanding access to leasing products in conditions of liquidity shortages and heightened economic uncertainty,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday following the signing of the necessary documents.
It is noted that 50% of the loan funds are planned to be directed to MSMEs for long-term investments in technologies that meet European Union (EU) standards, in particular “green” technologies, and the financing should enable enterprises to obtain transport, equipment, and machinery without significant initial capital expenditures at a time when liquidity remains limited due to war factors.
Upon completion of the investment projects, borrowers who meet the program criteria will receive EU-funded technical assistance and US-funded investment incentives under the EU4Business initiative.
Additional grants are available for businesses that have suffered destruction, loss of assets, or forced displacement, as well as for companies that promote the reintegration of veterans, persons with disabilities, and IDPs, and for MSMEs that have relocated or operate in affected regions, with support also extending to businesses led by women and young people.
The loan will be supported by an interest rate subsidy of up to 10% from the US through the EBRD’s SME Special Fund.
According to the EBRD, the company is its current client and a leading leasing company in Ukraine, providing financial leasing and fleet management services to corporate clients and MSMEs throughout the country.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, the EBRD has raised more than EUR 9.1 billion for Ukraine, including EUR 3.3 billion through partner financial institutions.
OTP Leasing is a non-bank financial institution subsidiary of Hungary’s OTP Bank, which has been working with the EBRD for many years.
In the third quarter of 2025, the company’s revenue increased by 7.3% compared to the third quarter of 2024, to UAH 1 billion 242.3 million, while net profit almost doubled, to UAH 808.0 million.
EBRD, FINANCING, LOAN, OTP LEASING, SMES
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and OTP Leasing, the largest company in the Ukrainian market, have announced the launch of a EUR50 million risk sharing facility (RSF) to increase financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as mid-cap companies in Ukraine for energy and energy efficiency needs.
“This initiative aims to finance sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, trade, energy, and logistics, focusing primarily on sustainable energy solutions that enhance Ukraine’s energy resilience,” the IFC said in a press release on Friday.
Under the RSF, the IFC will assume up to 50% of the credit risk for a maximum amount of EUR 25 million. The project’s 10% capital cost compensation mechanism (up to a total of EUR 6 million) will encourage lessees to choose sustainable solutions over more polluting alternatives.
It is noted that against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion and high risk, private sector lending has declined, with corporate lending falling from 12.8% of GDP in 2021 to 9.2% of GDP in 2024, while the leasing sector, as a critical alternative to lending, contracted by 59.4% in 2022 and has only partially recovered thanks to support from the state and assistance from international development finance institutions.
In addition, since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has lost almost two-thirds of its power generation capacity, highlighting the need for decentralized and sustainable energy systems.
“Thanks to the current RSF, OTP Leasing will be able to offer more leasing deals to traditionally underfinanced SMEs and mid-caps in Ukraine that prioritize small-scale renewable energy generation and energy-efficient sustainable projects, particularly climate-smart agriculture and green transport,” the IFC noted.
IFC’s participation in the RSF and the capital cost compensation mechanism are supported by the IFC’s Economic Resilience Action Program (ERA) for Ukraine, funded by the UK Department for International Development with EUR10 million.
Andrew Okenden, the UK’s Chargé d’Affaires in Kyiv, noted that the UK strongly supports Ukraine’s green and sustainable economic recovery, and that this approach reflects the key priorities of the 100-year Partnership Agreement signed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year.
According to IFC Regional Manager for Ukraine Lisa Kestner, the new agreement will increase access to finance for Ukrainian businesses, particularly in critical sectors such as agribusiness, manufacturing, and logistics. “Our initiative will help businesses invest in sustainable energy solutions such as climate-smart agriculture, small-scale renewable energy generation, and energy efficiency projects,” she emphasized.
Since February 2022, IFC, as part of its Economic Resilience Action Program (ERA) for Ukraine, has provided $2.5 billion in support to Ukraine’s private sector, including $940 million in mobilized financing.
According to IFC, as of March 31, 2025, OTP Leasing had approximately 33.6% of the Ukrainian market share in terms of leasing portfolio ($330.5 million in outstanding lease transactions). The company provides financial leasing and fleet management services to SMEs and mid-caps throughout the country. The company is wholly owned by Hungary’s OTP Bank Plc.
“OTP Leasing, the largest leasing company in the Ukrainian market, has announced the launch of a new EUR20 million financing program for hybrids and electric cars in Ukraine with 10% cashback through a grant.
“We hope to sell this product in about 200 showrooms in Ukraine. I want to visit the largest ones in Kyiv and the main regional ones this year. Because we need to sell 20 million euros under this program and distribute 2 million euros in grants,” OTP Leasing CEO Andriy Pavlushin wrote on Facebook.
According to him, the program provides for the leasing of cars to legal entities with a breakdown of payments for three to four years and a wide range of models: from a small Citroen to a large Range Rover, and also covers “soft hybrids.”
The company’s CEO hopes that the program will be further enhanced by the opportunity for its participants to refund 20% VAT on hybrids.
He noted that OTP Leasing will conduct trainings for showroom salespeople and has started this work with VIDI Auto for Business, which covers such models as Suzuki, Toyota, Lexus, Peugeot, Nissan, Range Rover/Land Rover, Volvo, Ford, MG, and Jeep.
“OTP Leasing is a subsidiary of the Hungarian OTP Bank. According to the EBRD, the company with a leasing portfolio of about UAH 15 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2024 occupied about 40% of the Ukrainian market.
In the first quarter of 2025, OTP Leasing’s revenue decreased by 20.8% compared to the first quarter of 2024 to UAH 383.1 million, while net profit increased 2.3 times to UAH 346.0 million.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and OTP Leasing have agreed on a new EUR40 million credit line, the company’s CEO Andriy Pavlushin said after a meeting with Ukrainian banks and financial companies organized by the EBRD in London.
“We agreed today on a new EUR40 million line, and we will sign it soon. There will be cashbacks for companies owned by veterans or war victims of up to 20% of the financing amount,” he wrote on his Facebook profile.
Pavlushyn noted that since the beginning of this year, OTP Leasing has financed $125 million worth of products, which, according to him, is 50% more than in 2023. The CEO emphasized that instruments from the EBRD significantly contribute to this result.
OTP Leasing provides financial leasing and fleet management services to corporate clients and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across the country. The ultimate owner of the company is OTP Bank Plc. (Hungary).
In an unstable economy, bank confidence remains an important component of doing business in Ukraine. OTP Leasing remains a reliable partner of Prometey.
The acquisition of freight transport through the leasing program from OTP Bank allowed the company to receive long-term investments in difficult military times.
As Andriy Pavlushin, CEO of OTP Leasing, explains: “Today we have 2.5 thousand customers. It is clear that first of all we try to support them and cooperate with them. A good example is the Prometey company. It has many elevators across the country. And when the company decided to increase the number of trucks, we helped them do it. And now this synergy pays off well – Prometey accepts grain at its elevators and has the opportunity to export it.”
As a financial institution, OTP Leasing faces different cases of payments. According to Andriy Pavlushyn, “in any case, one of the main factors is the integrity of the client. For example, we have not had any problems with Prometey, they pay for leasing on time.”
In the near future, Prometey plans to expand its grain carrier fleet to 100 vehicles.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is launching a EUR20 mln risk-sharing facility for the Ukrainian subsidiaries of Hungary’s OTP Bank: OTP Bank and OTP Leasing, to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially those operating in the agribusiness sector or owned by women.
“IFC assumes half of the risk on a combined EUR40 million portfolio covering key segments of the Ukrainian economy,” the corporation said in a press release on Friday.
It is specified that these will be the first risk-sharing arrangements in Ukraine under the IFC Small Loan Guarantee Program, which is supported by the European Commission and which will help save jobs, provide essential goods and services, restore supply chains, as well as generate export revenues and budget revenues.
IFC recalls that in 2021, SMEs accounted for 99.97% of all enterprises in Ukraine, generated about 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) and employed more than 7 million people. SMEs suffered significant losses in the second half of 2022, and now only 6% of them are doing business at the same levels as before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“A strong private sector is key to Ukraine’s economic revival. Expanding access to finance for businesses is critical to counteract the macroeconomic instability and supply chain disruptions that are now severely hampering economic activity in the country,” IFC Vice President for Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean Alfonso Garcia Mora was quoted as saying in the release.
He added that IFC aims to ensure access to credit and stimulate innovation as a key prerequisite for Ukraine’s recovery.
As reported, initially IFC from the World Bank Group considered the project of providing partial risk coverage of new financing for Ukrainian OTP Bank and OTP Leasing for EUR60 mln – EUR30 mln for each financial institution, estimating its possible participation in risk coverage up to EUR30 mln.
OTP Bank was the eighth among 65 Ukrainian banks in terms of total assets (103.33 billion UAH) at the beginning of June this year. The Bank has 75 branches in Ukraine.
“OTP Leasing is the largest leasing company in Ukraine with the share of about 45% according to the results of the first quarter of this year. The CEO of OTP Leasing Andrey Pavlushin reported earlier that in the first half of 2023 the company financed Ukrainian clients for UAH 2.2 billion, which is 3-4% more than the indicator of the first half of 2022.
