The government owes nearly 9 billion hryvnia under the “5-7-9” program
27 July 18:10
The government’s debt to banks for compensation of a portion of interest payments on loans under the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9” state program has reached 8.8 billion hryvnia. European Pravda reports this, citing data from the National Development Agency (NDA), according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
In the first half of 2026 alone, the government’s debt increased by 1.6 billion hryvnia (from 7.2 billion hryvnia at the beginning of the year). Compared to July 1, 2025, the debt has increased more than sixfold —at that time, it stood at 1.4 billion hryvnias.
“EP requested data from the NDR on the size of the state’s debt as of the beginning of each half-year. According to this data, a consistent trend can be observed: at the beginning of each year, the state’s debt increases, and in the middle of the year, it decreases. In 2026, this trend was broken for the first time,” EP writes.
The government’s arrears on payments increased in tandem with the size of the “5-7-9” preferential loan portfolio. Thus, while the portfolio stood at 150.1 billion UAH at the start of 2026, it reached 189.3 billion UAH by early July. Consequently, the government’s arrears (relative to the total portfolio) actually decreased slightly: while they stood at 4.8% at the start of the year, they were 4.7% at the start of the second half of the year.
“EP also asked the NUR whether it was aware of banks imposing additional fees on participants in the ‘5-7-9’ program. Such fees could help banks compensate for lost budget funds,” the publication notes.
The NUR responded that all possible commission fees are specified in the procedure for issuing preferential loans, and their total amount cannot exceed 1.5% of the loan amount.
“Although the reporting requirements for authorized banks to the NUR do not require separate submission of information regarding fees actually collected, the banks’ compliance with the requirements of the procedure (for issuing ‘5-7-9%’ loans—EP) is under constant monitoring by the NUR. In particular, as part of its monitoring of the program’s implementation, the NUR verifies that authorized banks are complying with its terms,” the development agency responded.
They added that the State Audit Service also verifies banks’ compliance with the terms for issuing preferential loans. Based on the results of these audits, no instances of banks charging additional fees were found.
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Banks issued nearly 600 loans last week
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance reports that last week, 48 authorized banks, as part of the state program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%,” provided 588 preferential loans totaling 1.6 billion UAH to micro, small, and medium-sized businesses 588 preferential loans totaling 1.6 billion UAH. Of these, state-owned banks issued 435 loans worth 0.8 billion UAH.
“Since the beginning of 2026, participants in the 5–7–9% program have received 22,650 loans totaling 104.5 billion hryvnias. In particular, state-owned banks have financed 14,904 loans totaling 47.5 billion hryvnias,” the statement reads.
During the period of martial law in Ukraine, 122,812 loans totaling 477 billion hryvnias were issued, of which 87,171 loans totaling 232.8 billion hryvnias were issued by state-owned banks.
As of July 27, 2026, funding under the program was allocated as follows:
- 72 billion hryvnia — investment purposes;
- 89.91 billion hryvnia — working capital financing;
- 57.65 billion UAH — loans to agricultural producers;
- 85.70 billion UAH — processing of agricultural products;
- 9.91 billion UAH — financing energy services;
- 56.81 billion UAH — anti-war purposes;
- 91.20 billion UAH — loans to businesses in high-military-risk zones.
In total, since the program’s launch, 157,634 loan agreements have been signed for a total of 566.6 billion UAH. Of these, state-owned banks signed 107,647 agreements totaling 259.4 billion UAH.
As previously reported, the Cabinet of Ministers extended the preferential lending terms under the “Affordable Loans 5–7–9%” program for agricultural enterprises for another year—until the end of March 2027.
The “Affordable Loans 5–7–9%” Program
As a reminder: The “Affordable Loans 5–7–9%” program serves micro, small, and medium-sized businesses across the country and remains one of the key policy tools for the development of Ukrainian producers under the “Made in Ukraine” initiative. Business support is provided by making loans more affordable through government compensation or government guarantees. The program is most actively used by enterprises in the agricultural sector, wholesale and retail trade, and the processing industry.
Earlier, the National Bank estimated that by the end of this year, the government’s debt related to “5-7-9%” loan compensation would reach 10 billion hryvnias by the end of 2026.
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