In July 2026, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) imposed a fine totaling 42.545 million UAH on JSC “Ukrainian Capital Bank” for violating financial monitoring and foreign exchange supervision regulations.
The regulator imposed the main fine of 40.545 million UAH for the improper organization and conduct of initial financial monitoring. Specifically, the NBU identified shortcomings in the bank’s application of a risk-based approach, its assessment of customer risks, and its internal documents regarding financial monitoring and customer due diligence. The bank also did not always provide information and documents in a timely and complete manner in response to requests from the inspection team.
An additional fine of 2 million UAH was imposed for violations of foreign exchange legislation. According to the NBU, the bank improperly carried out foreign exchange supervision, failed to ensure a comprehensive analysis of documents related to certain foreign exchange transactions, and did not identify the indicators of such transactions as required by regulations.
In addition, “Ukrainian Capital” received two written warnings. One relates to additional due diligence on customers who are politically exposed persons (PEPs), the automation of certain procedures, and the completion of customer questionnaires. The second concerns the late submission of and errors in statistical reports on foreign exchange transactions.
The NBU announced the imposition of these enforcement measures on August 7, 2026. In total, in July, the regulator imposed sanctions for violations in the areas of financial monitoring and foreign exchange legislation on two banks and 19 non-bank financial institutions.
Ukrainian Capital Bank has been operating in the Ukrainian market since 1992 and was originally registered as Zakarpattia Bank; it has used its current name since 1996. The NBU classifies it as a privately owned bank. According to the regulator, as of February 1, 2026, the bank’s assets totaled 3.079 billion UAH, liabilities amounted to 2.874 billion UAH, and capital stood at 204.7 million UAH. The NBU lists Serhiy Belashov, Liliana Belashova, Daria Zlidar, and Nataliia Kiva as major shareholders. Yevhen Chechyl serves as chairman of the board.
BANK, financial monitoring, FINE, foreign exchange supervision, NBU
According to preliminary data, Ukraine’s international reserves decreased by $70.4 million, or 0.1%, to $51.2 billion in July, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on Friday.
“This trend was driven by the National Bank’s foreign exchange interventions and the country’s debt payments in foreign currency,” the regulator noted on its website.
According to the published data, net international reserves in July decreased by $668.9 million, or 1.8%, compared to June, to $36.3 billion.
The share of dollar-denominated assets in international reserves as of August 1, 2026, decreased to 64.7% from 66.5% a month earlier, while the share of euro-denominated assets rose to 27.0% from 25.6%. A year ago, these figures stood at 73.5% and 17.5%, respectively.
The share of gold in international reserves as of early August stood at 7.0%, compared with 6.9% a month earlier and 6.8% a year earlier.
It is noted that $1.6 billion was credited to the government’s foreign currency accounts at the National Bank in July, including $683.3 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), $498.7 million through World Bank accounts, and $458.6 million from the placement of foreign currency government bonds.
In addition, Ukraine received $5.1 billion from the European Union (EU) as part of a defense tranche under the Ukraine Support Loan program; however, due to the earmarked nature of this funding, these funds do not directly enter the international reserves. In July, the government converted $3.4 billion of these funds into hryvnia, which correspondingly contributed to an increase in international reserves.
At the same time, the Ukrainian government paid $515.4 million for servicing and repaying public debt denominated in foreign currency, including $433.3 million for servicing and repaying foreign-currency government bonds, $58.7 million for servicing and repaying debt to the World Bank, $6.9 million for servicing debt to the EU, and $16.5 million for debt to other creditors.
In addition, Ukraine paid $174.2 million to the IMF.
The revaluation of financial instruments in July increased the value of reserves by $300.6 million.
The National Bank’s foreign exchange interventions totaled nearly $4.79 billion, which is $296.0 million less than in June.
“The current level of international reserves is sufficient to finance 4.2 months of future imports,” the National Bank added.
As previously reported, in its July macroeconomic forecast, the regulator raised its estimate of international reserves for the end of 2026 to $69.7 billion from $64.8 billion, for 2027 to $73.7 billion from $66.5 billion, and for 2028 to $70.0 billion from $61.1 billion.
Ukrainian banks expect further growth in their business and household loan portfolios over the next 12 months, as well as an increase in demand for all types of corporate and retail loans in the third quarter, according to the results of a survey by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
At the same time, these expectations have become more subdued: the balance of responses regarding growth in the business loan portfolio fell to 38.2% from 72.2% in the first quarter of 2026, and for retail loans—to 38.9% from 65.1%.
Banks forecast a slight improvement in the quality of the corporate loan portfolio over the next 12 months: the balance of responses stood at 7.3% compared to 7.1% a quarter earlier. At the same time, for the fourth consecutive quarter, respondents expect the quality of loans to households to deteriorate, although the corresponding balance has become less negative—“minus” 16.3% versus “minus” 17%.
Financial institutions also expect growth in deposits from businesses and households. The balance of responses regarding the expected change in the volume of corporate sector deposits rose to 53.7% from 50.7%, reaching its highest level since the start of the full-scale invasion, while the balance for household deposits rose to 53.8% from 53.3%.
In the second quarter, business demand for loans increased: the overall balance of responses rose to 35.5% from 34.4% in January–March, also reaching its highest level since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Demand for long-term loans saw the sharpest increase—rising to 35.4% from 24.6%. Demand for loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rose to 24.7% from 23.8%, while demand for loans to large enterprises also increased, though at a slower pace than a quarter ago: the balance of responses fell to 26.9% from 34%.
Banks cited the need for capital investments and working capital as the main drivers of the growth in corporate demand. In the third quarter, they expect demand to increase for all types of business loans, particularly long-term ones.
Household demand also rose in the second quarter for both mortgage and consumer loans. According to banks’ estimates, demand for consumer loans has been growing since the second quarter of 2023, and for mortgages—since the beginning of 2025.
In July–September, respondents expect a further increase in household demand for loans, particularly for mortgages. Several large banks cited lower borrowing costs and improved prospects for the real estate market as the main drivers of rising mortgage demand.
Lending standards for the corporate sector remained virtually unchanged in the second quarter: the balance of responses stood at 1.7%, compared with “minus” 2.9% a quarter earlier. Standards for SMEs eased, though to a lesser extent than in January–March: “minus” 3.3% versus “minus” 25.2%.
In the third quarter, banks generally do not plan to change their corporate lending standards but expect them to ease for SME loans.
The approval rate for business loan applications remained largely unchanged in the second quarter: the balance of responses stood at 0% compared to 12.6% a quarter earlier. At the same time, for SMEs, it stood at 13% versus 24.4%, as some banks reported the possibility of providing them with larger loans.
For households, banks eased standards in the second quarter for both mortgages and consumer loans. For mortgages, the net balance of responses fell to “minus” 14.9% from zero, while for consumer loans it stood at “minus” 21.5% compared with “minus” 23.1% a quarter earlier.
Competition among banks remained the main factor behind the easing of consumer lending standards. For mortgages, additional factors included expectations regarding overall economic activity and the outlook for the real estate market.
Banks also expect a further easing of standards for both mortgage and consumer loans in the third quarter.
The approval rate for household loan applications rose in April–June. Banks reported lower interest rates, higher loan amounts, and longer terms for consumer loans, as well as lower mortgage costs and somewhat stricter collateral requirements for mortgages.
Banks assessed the debt burden on businesses in the second quarter as moderate, although assessments regarding SMEs tended toward the low end of the scale. The debt burden on households remained low.
In the second quarter, banks recorded an increase in credit, foreign exchange, and liquidity risks. The balance of responses regarding credit risk rose to 30.3% from 24.9% a quarter ago; for foreign exchange risk, it stood at 14.5% versus 21.3%; for liquidity risk, 8.4% versus 18.8%; while interest rate and operational risks remained largely unchanged.
At the same time, respondents expect currency and credit risks, in particular, to intensify in the third quarter.
The survey was conducted from June 16 to July 8, 2026, among credit managers at 25 banks, which accounted for 96% of the banking system’s total assets.
BANK, BUSINESS, LOAN, NBU, POPULATION
The network of branches of Ukrainian banks decreased by 38 branches in the second quarter of this year, following a reduction of 23 branches in the first quarter, and now stands at 4,754 branches, according to statistics from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).
According to the data, Oschadbank closed the most branches in the second quarter—10—reducing its network to 1,115, though it retained its lead in terms of total number of branches.
Due to the liquidation of Motor-Bank, all six of its branches ceased operations in the second quarter.
PrivatBank and Ukreximbank each closed five branches, bringing the networks of these state-owned banks to 1,050 and 18 branches, respectively.
From April through June, TAScombank (83 branches) and Kominbank (39) each closed three branches, while Ukrsibbank (214), Bank Credit Dnipro (31), and Oksi Bank (9) each closed two.
During the second quarter, Raiffeisen Bank (282), A-Bank (196), Poltava-Bank (70), Globus Bank (32), Radabank (32), Alliance Bank (30), Ukrainian Capital Bank (14), and the European Industrial Bank (6).
At the same time, Accordbank (177) opened five new branches, MTB Bank (47) opened two, and PUMB (220) opened one.
According to the National Bank, as of early July of this year, the largest branch networks in Ukraine were operated by the state-owned Oschadbank (1,115) and PrivatBank (1,050). They were followed, by a significant margin, by Raiffeisen Bank (282), PUMB (220), and Ukrsibbank (214).
The top five by number of branches also included Ukrgasbank (206), A-Bank (196), Akordbank (177), Sens Bank (137), and Credit Agricole Bank (124).
As of early July, the five banks with state ownership maintained a network of 2,526 branches, accounting for 53.1% of the total number of branches.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reduced its interventions in the interbank market last week by $59.9 million, or 5.6%, to $1.0145 billion, according to statistics on the regulator’s website.
According to the National Bank’s data, during the first four days of last week, the average daily net deficit in currency purchases and sales by legal entities decreased to $140.9 million from $168.5 million during the same period a week earlier, totaling $563.7 million.
In the retail foreign exchange market, the average daily net deficit decreased: from Monday through Thursday, it stood at $9.2 million, compared to $11.6 million the week before last, and non-cash currency sales exceeded purchases on all those days.
The official hryvnia-to-dollar exchange rate, which started last week at 44.6676 UAH/$1, weakened to 44.8110 UAH/$1 by the end of the week.
The same trend was observed in the cash market, where the hryvnia-to-dollar exchange rate weakened by 12 kopecks over the past week: the buying rate fell to 44.51 UAH/$1, and the selling rate to nearly 44.90 UAH/$1.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) revoked the insurance operating licenses of PJSC “Insurance Company ‘ASKO DS’” (Kyiv) and PJSC “Insurance Company ‘Peremoha’” (Kyiv).
According to the regulator’s website, the reason for this decision regarding ASKO DS was the company’s failure to submit a business recovery plan and a financing plan to the NBU, as revealed by the results of off-site supervision of the company’s activities.
The business recovery plan was intended to ensure the insurer’s financial recovery and compliance with solvency capital requirements within no more than 180 days from the date the violation of such requirements was identified, while the financing plan was to be implemented within no more than 90 days. Failure to fulfill these obligations led to the National Bank’s repeated rejection of the insurer’s business recovery plan and financing plan.
As for IC “Peremoha,” the results of off-site supervision of the company’s activities revealed that the insurer was engaging in risky activities that threatened the interests of its policyholders and/or other creditors.
Evidence of such activities included the omission and misrepresentation in the insurer’s information systems of data contained in contracts and other source documents, on the basis of which reporting data for the relevant reporting period are calculated or generated. The extent of the omissions and distortions exceeded 10% of the reporting data and the data contained in the insurer’s information systems, and more than 20% of the minimum absolute value of the minimum capital.
The decisions to impose sanctions on ASKO-DS Insurance Company and Peremoha Insurance Company take effect on July 24, 2026. As of that date, the companies lose the right to enter into contracts or make changes (such as extending the terms of existing contracts) regarding the provision of insurance services.
ASKO-DS Insurance Company was registered in November 1991. It has been a member of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine since 1994 and a member of the “Insurance Business” Association since 2015.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the company ranks 30th among Ukraine’s non-life insurers in terms of premiums collected in 2025.
As previously reported, ASKO-DS Insurance Company (formerly Mir Insurance Company, Kyiv) was registered in 1992 and specializes in risk insurance.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC), as of the first quarter of 2026, the shareholders of this insurance company were ABC Finance LLC—79.920% of the shares—and Anastasia Kolesnik—9%.
