The state-owned Oschadbank has signed a series of loan agreements with companies belonging to the Kernel Group for a total amount of $77 million, which, according to the bank, is the largest amount of lending to private businesses among Ukrainian banks in 2025.
“The development of Ukraine’s agricultural export potential is an important aspect of strengthening the state’s economy. This is the main focus of Kernel’s business and one of Oschadbank’s priorities,” said Yuriy Katsion, deputy chairman of Oschadbank’s board responsible for corporate business, on Facebook.
According to a press release from the bank, almost half of the lending volume may be directed toward investment needs: these are non-revolving credit lines of $36.7 million with a term of seven years.
It is noted that the funds may also be used to upgrade the fleet of agricultural machinery and equipment to ensure uninterrupted cultivation of agricultural land, as well as to finance and refinance capital expenditures related to the reconstruction of the Transbalkterminal grain terminal (Chornomorsk), which was damaged as a result of a Russian missile attack in 2023.
Another feature of the agreement is the borrower’s right to draw down the entire credit limit of $77 million during the term of the agreement to replenish working capital, provided that the limits provided for investment lending are reduced, the bank said.
It is specified that the replenishment of working capital may be carried out by the group’s companies, in particular, for the purchase of grain, fertilizers, plant protection products, fuels and lubricants, other goods, works, and services.
Before the war, Kernel was the world’s leading producer of sunflower oil (about 7% of global production) and its exporter (about 12%). It is one of the largest producers and sellers of bottled oil in Ukraine. In addition, it is engaged in the cultivation and sale of agricultural products.
In fiscal year 2025 (FY, July 2024 – June 2025), Kernel earned $238 million in net profit, which is 42% more than in FY 2024. Kernel’s consolidated revenue in FY2025 reached $4.115 billion, an increase of 15% compared to the previous fiscal year.
The company’s debt obligations at the end of September amounted to $726 million, including bank credit lines of $104.5 million, compared to $146.7 million at the beginning of the year.
As reported, in October 2025, Oschadbank’s corporate segment 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 November this year, Oschadbank, with total assets of UAH 456.23 billion, ranked second among 60 banks in terms of this indicator.
Fintonik LLC (Kyiv) won the auction held by the state-owned Oschadbank on December 10 for the sale of a pool of loans to the Ukrlandfarming group of companies (Ukrlandfarming, ULF), offering the minimum possible price of UAH 1.13871 billion at a starting price of UAH 5.03852 billion.
According to data from the Prozorro.Prozori system, Fintonik, 80% of which is owned by Andriy Shpylka from Kryvyi Rih and 20% by former SCM director of new business development Mykola Nesterenko, was the only participant in the auction.
According to the protocol, the remuneration of the electronic platform SKOMPANI LLC, through which the application was submitted, amounted to UAH 17.08 million and will be paid from the UAH 75.58 million guarantee deposit.
Earlier, Oschadbank noted that this stage of the sale, at which the minimum price was reduced by 44%, was the final one, because after a series of previous auctions with a gradual reduction, the possibility of further price adjustments had been exhausted.
The auction included claims under loan agreements and related collateral agreements of borrowers — the ULF group of companies (PJSC Raise-Maksymko, PJSC Agroholding Avangard, Imperovo Foods LLC) and Pakko Holding LLC.
“The current auction is the last chance for potential investors to purchase a pool of secured loans, which includes production assets throughout Ukraine: elevators, poultry farms, an egg processing plant, etc., as well as guarantees from individuals and legal entities,” Oschadbank emphasized. It noted that if the auction is unsuccessful, it will proceed with the active implementation of a liquidation scenario to collect the debt.
In early December this year, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) fined TNA Corporate Solutions LLC (USA) and American citizen Nicholas Piazza (Nicholas Piazza) for violating the law when concentrating shares in the authorized capital of 14 enterprises of the Ukrlandfarming group, which was one of the largest agricultural holdings in Eurasia.
The agricultural holding claims that it remains one of the largest in Ukraine despite $1.2 billion in losses due to Russia’s military aggression. A significant portion of ULF’s financial obligations have been in default since 2017. In November 2017, a group of international creditors of Ukrlandfarming and Avangard estimated the total amount of ULF’s debt obligations at approximately $1.65 billion in a letter to the Ukrainian government: about $1.25 billion in debt obligations to international creditors and about $400 million to Ukrainian banks (including state-owned banks). In turn, according to their data, the debt to international creditors at that time consisted of approximately $775 million in Eurobonds and $475 million in credit debt to European and American banks (and their respective credit risk insurers).
In October last year, Ukrlandfarming announced that the lawsuits filed by Gramercy Funds Management LLC and its affiliates against Bakhmatyuk, Piazzi, Oleksandr Yaremenko, SP Capital Management LLC, TNA Corporate Solutions LLC, and/or Maltofex Ltd had been voluntarily withdrawn with a final waiver of claims, and the parties had entered into a confidential settlement agreement in connection therewith.
“Now that the litigation against Mr. Bakhmatyuk has been concluded, the company can more freely negotiate with creditors and focus on growing and rebuilding its business after losing approximately half of its value due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the release said at the time.
According to the NBU, as of early September this year, Oschadbank, with total assets of UAH 479.1 billion (12.3% of the total), ranked second among 60 banks in terms of this indicator.
Last week, Oschadbank officially opened its first business hub, Oschadbiznes, in Kyiv and declared it a flagship space for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs).
“Ukrainian businesses need not only loans, but also an environment where ideas, partnerships, and scaling are born. That is why we have created the Oschadbusiness hub, which combines financing, knowledge, and opportunities,” said Serhiy Naumov, chairman of the board of Oschadbank.
The bank noted that the space also provides for educational and business events and has a place for networking.
In turn, Natalia Butkova-Vitvitskaya, a member of the board responsible for SMEs, noted that the hub will operate on a “single window” principle and will become a platform for consultations, participation in grant and partnership programs, as well as access to credit products.
“Next year, the bank plans to expand the Oschadbiznes hub network beyond the capital,” she said, without specifying the number of hubs.
The new branch is located at 26/14 Spaska Street and also includes a premium customer service area.
Oschadbank is the leader in Ukraine in terms of the number of branches—1,142—although in the third quarter, it reduced its network by five branches.
According to Oschadbank, its SME loan portfolio tripled between 2022 and 2025. State grants were received by 25,000 bank customers, and international financial organizations (IFOs) provided approximately UAH 1.5 billion in support. About 20% of the funding was directed to businesses in frontline regions, and half of the customers took advantage of IFO and government guarantee instruments.
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 National Bank, as of October 1 this year, Oschadbank, with total assets of UAH 485.81 billion, ranked second among 60 banks in Ukraine in terms of this indicator.
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.
International rating agency Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) of Oschadbank (State Savings Bank of Ukraine) at ‘CCC’ and its local-currency IDR at ‘CCC+’, reflecting the lender’s stable performance under wartime conditions and continued sovereign support.
According to Fitch, Oschadbank’s risk profile remains closely tied to the Ukrainian sovereign, given the bank’s large holdings of government securities and placements at the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). At end-1H25, sovereign exposure accounted for about 44% of assets in government bonds, 9% in NBU deposit certificates, and 5% in placements at the central bank. Loans to state-owned enterprises made up roughly 20% of the portfolio.
Fitch reported that Oschadbank’s impaired loans ratio fell slightly to 22.1% at end-1H25 (from 22.6% in 2024) amid loan growth, while loan-loss reserves covered 77% of impaired loans. The bank’s operating profit to risk-weighted assets improved to 11.4% in 1H25, supported by reversals of loan-loss allowances.
Customer deposits represented 97% of non-equity funding, including a strong retail base (59% of deposits). The loans-to-deposits ratio increased to 38.6% but remains modest.
Following the repayment of a eurobond in March 2025, Oschadbank’s remaining foreign-currency debt consists mainly of a bilateral loan from an international financial institution. Fitch expects the bank to continue servicing all external obligations.
“Operating conditions for Ukrainian banks remain challenging due to the war, but Oschadbank’s performance is supported by NBU policy measures and continued international assistance,” the agency said.
Oschadbank, founded in 1991, is one of Ukraine’s two state-owned systemic banks. With total assets of UAH 479.1 billion (12.3% of sector assets) as of September 2025, it ranks second among 60 Ukrainian banks by total assets. The state owns 100% of the bank through the Ministry of Finance.
In the third quarter of 2025, the state-owned Oschadbank received UAH 4.19 billion in net profit, which is 38.6% more than in the same period of 2024, while pre-tax profit increased by 7.1% to UAH 5.69 billion.
According to the bank’s financial statements on its website, net interest income increased by 31.8% to UAH 8.19 billion, while net commission income increased by 25.5% to UAH 2.07 billion.
At the same time, Oschadbank incurred a loss of UAH 0.2 billion from transactions with financial instruments at fair value in the third quarter, compared to a profit of UAH 1.37 billion in the same period of 2024, while foreign currency transactions, as in the previous year, brought in UAH 0.29 billion.
Overall, the bank’s operating income for July-September increased by 17.9% to UAH 11.58 billion, while employee compensation expenses increased by 26.4% to UAH 2.70 billion, and other administrative and operating expenses increased by 35.1% to UAH 2.37 billion.
According to the report, the volume of loans provided to the bank’s customers has grown by 10.2% since the beginning of the year, to UAH 148.16 billion.
It is noted that in the third quarter, the bank continued to grow its loan portfolio in the corporate, SME, and retail segments, in particular within the framework of the “Affordable Loans 5–7–9%” and “єОселя” mortgage lending programs. As of September 30, 2025, the gross value of loans provided under the “єОселя” program amounted to UAH 10.79 billion, compared to UAH 8.57 billion at the end of 2024.
Overall, in the first nine months of 2025, the bank increased its net profit by 17.3% to UAH 13.88 billion, which allowed it to reduce its uncovered loss by 2.5 times to UAH 6.93 billion. As a result, since the beginning of the year, Oschadbank’s equity capital has grown by 28.8% and amounted to UAH 44.6 billion as of September 30, 2025, while total assets during this period increased by 6.6% to UAH 456.73 billion.
According to the NBU, as of September 1, 2025, Oschadbank ranked second among 60 banks in Ukraine with assets of UAH 452.24 billion.
