Financial sector news

Currently, the largest volume of business lending is concentrated in Kyiv and the Kyiv region — UAH 555.5 billion. At the same time, lending volumes remain extremely low in the frontline regions. In particular, in the Kherson region, the business loan portfolio amounts to only UAH 2.5 billion.

The difference between regions is significant: the volume of lending to entrepreneurs in the capital region is 15.6 times higher than in the Kharkiv region (UAH 35.6 billion), 30 times higher than in the Mykolaiv region (UAH 18.5 billion), and 223 times higher than in the Kherson region.
Despite the growth of the business loan portfolio in 2025, the level of loan penetration in GDP remains at a historically low level. Thus, in the third quarter of 2025, gross business loans accounted for only 11.4% of GDP, while in 2018 this figure reached 25.8%.

“The loan portfolio of enterprises in frontline regions currently accounts for only 19% of the total volume of lending in the country, which indicates insufficient access to financial resources for businesses in these regions,” summarized Danylo Getmantsev, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy. “In conditions of constant shelling and destroyed infrastructure, entrepreneurs in frontline regions are in particular need of preferential, fast, and affordable loans to resume their activities,” the MP stressed.

In this context, the launch of the National Development Agency on January 1, 2026, is an important step forward, as the newly created institution will play a key role in supporting Ukrainian businesses, especially those operating in frontline regions. In addition, the National Development Agency will become one of the central instruments of post-war economic recovery.