EBRD to help Ukrainian banks lend to Ukrainian companies
7 January 14:49
The signing of a 50 million euro risk-sharing framework agreement between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Credit Agricole Ukraine will increase the bank’s ability to provide loans to more Ukrainian companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises. The EBRD announced the signing of the agreement, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to the program, the EBRD will share the risk of individual loans of more than EUR 5 million granted by Credit Agricole Ukraine to companies of any size, up to a total limit of EUR 50 million. The Ukrainian bank will be able to use the capital potential released by the agreement to expand its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also announced a new unfunded portfolio risk-sharing program for Ukrainian JSC OTP Bank. The EBRD will cover up to 50 percent of OTP Bank’s credit risk on EUR 200 million of recently granted sub-loans to private enterprises operating in Ukraine.
The Credit Enhancement Facility will help finance critical sectors such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing and transportation, supporting the company’s operations and maintaining access to critical goods. The EBRD facility will be supported by first loss coverage funded by donors, including the European Union, under the Ukraine Investment Program.
What is known about Credit Agricole Ukraine?
This Ukrainian bank is a part of Crédit Agricole Group (France). Since 2023, JSC “Credit Agricole” has been on the list of systemically important banks of the National Bank of Ukraine, which demonstrates the importance of Credit Agricole for the Ukrainian economy.
According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of November 1, 2024, Credit Agricole was ranked 10th (UAH 119.95 billion) in terms of total assets among 62 banks in the country. Net profit of the financial institution for 10 months of the last year amounted to UAH 5.50 billion.
What is known about OTP Bank
OTP Bank in Ukraine is a wholly owned subsidiary of OTP Bank Plc, Hungary. It is a universal bank offering traditional banking products to corporate and retail clients and ranked ninth in Ukraine by total assets as of the end of October 2023.
How the EBRD helps Ukraine
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the largest institutional investor in Ukraine. The EBRD has been strongly supporting Ukraine during the Russian war in Ukraine and has invested more than €6.1 billion in the country’s economy since then. In 2024, support for the real economy of Ukraine amounted to more than €2.3 billion. The bank supports energy security, vital infrastructure, food security, trade and the private sector with investments.
“After signing the risk-sharing agreement with the EBRD, Credit Agricole Ukraine became the fourth partner bank in the EBRD’s non-recourse risk-sharing strategy in Ukraine. Prior to that, such agreements were signed with Ukrsibbank BNP Paribas Group, Raiffeisen Bank and Piraeus Bank.
