Financial sector news

According to the press service of the Ministry of Finance, during the period of martial law in the country, 97,292 loans were issued for UAH 358.2 billion (including 71,122 loans for UAH 181.8 billion by state-owned banks).

Statistics as of December 15 of this year:

• UAH 79.98 billion – for financing working capital;
  
  
• UAH 56.84 billion – for anti-war purposes;
  
  
• UAH 54.14 billion – for investment purposes;
  
  
• UAH 52.55 billion – for processing agricultural products;
  
  
• UAH 50.48 billion – lending in areas of high military risk.
  
  
• UAH 48.58 billion – loans for agricultural producers;
  
  
• UAH 3.62 billion – for financing energy services;

Currently, under the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” the Entrepreneurship Development Fund has signed cooperation agreements with 47 banks. The state program aims to develop entrepreneurship by providing access to affordable financing, as well as promoting job creation, economic accessibility, and business support during the war.

OECD forecast:

Investment in artificial intelligence will continue to grow and stimulate the global economy
Matthias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, said that the growth in investment in artificial intelligence, which has stimulated global growth, will continue and bring long-term benefits.

“We expect investment in artificial intelligence to continue to grow for some time,” Kormann said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “In the medium to long term, we expect a significant positive impact on productivity growth due to the accelerated spread and implementation of artificial intelligence in the economy.”

According to the OECD, the global economy is weathering Donald Trump's trade tariffs better than expected, as activity is being boosted by significant investment in artificial intelligence and favorable fiscal and monetary policies.
The Paris-based organization raised its growth forecasts for the US and the Eurozone for this year and next, and made minor upward revisions for other major economies in its latest review.
Increased investment in artificial intelligence and the construction of data centers, particularly in the US, are also having a growing impact on economic assessments. According to the OECD, the rise of the technology sector has supported global trade flows, and manufacturing growth in the technology sector is outpacing the rest of the industry.

Nevertheless, the company continues to forecast that global growth will slow to 2.9% in 2026 from 3.2% in 2025, as the full impact of tariffs on trade has yet to be felt.

“We do see a fairly high level of downside risks,” said Mathias Cormann. “The impact of tariffs has yet to be fully felt, and there is a persistent level of uncertainty in trade and a number of other structural pressures.”

Background:

The OECD is an influential international organization that brings together mainly developed countries (38 members as of 2025) to develop and promote policies that promote economic growth, prosperity, anti-corruption, and global trade, acting as a “club” of leading democratic countries. It works on standards, recommendations, and analysis in the areas of taxation, innovation, education, sustainable development, and others, actively cooperating with non-member countries, including Ukraine. The OECD plays a key role in shaping global economic and social policy by providing governments with recommendations and a platform for sharing experiences.