Business lending has reached a decade-high—a banker explained the reasons

8 July 20:04

YOUTUBE

Last year saw the fastest growth in business lending in Ukraine over the past ten years. This applies to both absolute and relative figures. Maksym Tsymbal, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Pivdenny Bank, spoke about this in an interview with the "Komersant Ukrainian" YouTube channel.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen an all-time high in business lending growth for the past decade. This isn’t just because of the war—it’s a record in both absolute and relative terms,” the banker noted.

According to him, not only did the volume of loans issued increase, but so did the share of business lending in GDP, indicating a more active role for the banking system in supporting the economy and investment.

Cymbal cited increased competition among systemically important banks—which has grown significantly over the past few years—as one of the reasons for this result.

“Based on my expert assessment, I cannot recall a period in the last ten years when it was so easy for businesses to obtain a bank loan. This is also a result of the banking sector’s development and increased competition. Clients can only benefit from such competition,” he emphasized.

Another key driver of investment has been companies’ need for energy independence. According to the banker, last year alone the banking system financed the purchase of energy equipment for businesses totaling more than 50 billion hryvnias.