Business.Ukraine: Oschadbank offers international clients maximum reliability and convenience

Interview with Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, Member of the Oschadbank Management Board responsible for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), published by Business Ukraine.

As more international businesses and investors consider entering the Ukrainian market, Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank is positioning itself as a dependable partner that сan offer a combination of unrivaled local knowledge and reliable banking services along with a strong record of cooperation with international financial institutions.

The ongoing Russian invasion has thrust Ukraine into the global headlines, highlighting the country’s geopolitical importance and underlining its huge potential to the global business community. With a major national recovery process looming on the horizon and European integration already gaining momentum, more international businesses and investors are now eyeing Ukraine as an attractive possible future market. One of Ukraine’s largest state-owned banks, Oschadbank, believes it is particularly well-placed to meet the needs of foreign clients entering the Ukrainian market.

Transparency and dependability

Crucially, Oschadbank can provide the kind of dependability that comes with state-owned status. The bank also has detailed local knowledge thanks to the largest nationwide network, while offering a wide variety of tailored financing services. Among Ukrainian banks, Oschadbank currently occupies a leadership position in terms of cooperation with international financial institutions. This covers areas including grant financing, risk sharing, and assistance mechanisms.

“The key advantages we can offer for potential international clients include the bank’s high degree of transparency and reliability,” says Natalia Butkova-Vitvitska, Oschadbank Management Board Member responsible for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). “If foreign investors want to enter the Ukrainian market they will need a reliable bank that can provide transparent services. The best solution in that case is a state-owned bank with the guarantees this brings.”

Tailored financial products

Butkova-Vitvitska notes that as one of Ukraine’s leading lenders to corporate clients and MSMEs, Oschadbank has extensive expertise in various different segments of the Ukrainian economy. This has helped the bank to develop a range of financial products to suit the specifics of each sector and reflect the requirements of different client categories. Between 2022 and 2025 alone, Oschadbank provided more than EUR 1.5 billion in financing to MSMEs, supporting over 23,000 business projects across Ukraine.

During the same period, the bank helped businesses attract more than EUR 300 million in grant funding from a range of both domestic and international programs. This included targeted programs designed to match European environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, such as the bank’s recently launched “Moving Forward” grant initiative, which provides support to women entrepreneurs and Ukrainian military veterans.

International cooperation

Years of extensive cooperation with international financial institutions including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund, and multiple national agencies have helped build strong partnerships while also aiding Oschadbank’s own internal development. This has already enabled Oschadbank to direct UAH 9 billion to support local enterprises.

Meanwhile, the bank’s recent mandate agreement with the EBRD to develop a new business support portfolio of up to EUR 510 million opens up even greater avenues for commercial financing. This long record of cooperation with international financial institutions has helped Oschadbank to adapt and innovate in terms of the services on offer for Ukrainian and international clients. “Our banking services and procedures are all in line with existing European banking industry standards,” Butkova-Vitvitska comments.

Oschad Business Hub

The conversation with Butkova-Vitvitska took place in late May at the bank’s impressive new Oschad Business Hub, which is located in Kyiv’s riverside Podil district. Opened in December 2025, this stylishly outfitted business banking center offers clients access to everything from conference and meeting facilities to safety deposit boxes and a secure cashier area, with a selection of Oschadbank specialists on hand for consultations. It features sleek interiors created by a Kyiv design bureau and a full selection of technological solutions for business.

The bank is currently working on plans to open similar Oschad Business Hubs in Lviv and Vinnytsia, with the further expansion of the initiative to other Ukrainian cities also under discussion. The recently unveiled venue in Podil is a striking symbol of the bank’s transformation over the past twelve years, a process that has seen Oschadbank modernize and implement a wide range of institutional reforms while expanding its role as one of the engines of the Ukrainian economy. The hub is ideally suited to meet the needs of any foreign businesses and investors entering the Ukrainian market who may not initially have the full range of office facilities at their disposal in the country, Butkova-Vitvitska points out.

Partnership Program

Among Oschadbank’s current services, one of the standout features for potential international clients is the bank’s Partnership Program. This allows foreign businesses to reach Ukrainian customers via Oschadbank, with the bank in the position of middleman providing financing for purchases. The program covers all kinds of fixed assets, from equipment to machinery and vehicles.

This program has proved highly popular with both Ukrainian and international clients, and has expanded rapidly in recent years following the establishment of a dedicated unit within the bank to promote the initiative nationwide. Oschadbank now has more than three hundred partnership program agreements in place, mostly with foreign companies looking to sell to the Ukrainian market.

Global outreach

In line with Oschadbank’s current focus on building international bridges and serving foreign businesses in Ukraine, the bank is active in the international area and regularly participates in different Ukraine-related forums. In 2025, Oschadbank was present at a number of events including a Ukraine-United States business forum that took place in Washington DC, the Expo 2025 event in Japan, an EU-Ukraine business summit in Belgium, and the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference, which was hosted in Rome.

Oschadbank is also a leading partner for local governments involved in Ukraine’s reconstruction. Over the last eight years, the bank concluded financing agreements worth approximately EUR 339 million with eight Ukrainian municipalities, supporting around 800 projects. Overall, Oschadbank currently holds a 43 percent share of Ukraine’s municipal financing market. Key focuses include water supply and wastewater infrastructure, environmental projects, public transport modernization, reconstruction initiatives, and the implementation of energy efficiency measures.

Energy sector opportunities

Butkova-Vitvitska confirms that she is witnessing increasing interest in Ukraine among international partners and foreign companies. She identifies a number of economic sectors that offer particularly strong growth potential including agriculture, defense, and the energy industry. Years of wartime attacks on Ukraine’s existing energy infrastructure have created major reconstruction challenges while spurring domestic demand for measures to reduce dependence on Ukraine’s national power grid. According to current estimates, the damage inflicted on Ukraine’s energy sector during the full-scale invasion exceeds USD 93 billion.

“We are already seeing considerable appetite among Ukrainian businesses to build their own power sources focusing on solar, wind, and bioenergy options. This creates significant space for international investment. As foreign companies and investors enter the market, they will require a reliable and efficient banking partner. We aim to provide that reliability and convenience,” Butkova-Vitvitska comments.

Oschadbank has emerged as one of the leading financiers of Ukraine’s energy resilience efforts. During 2024 and 2025, Ukrainian banks provided a total of UAH 41.5 billion in financing for energy projects to Ukrainian businesses and households, with Oschadbank accounting for approximately 25 percent of the total market. Between 2024 and 2026, the bank financed more than UAH 2.5 billion worth of energy projects for MSMEs.

The structure of Oschadbank’s MSME energy financing portfolio reflects the growing demand in today’s Ukraine for decentralized power generation. Solar power projects make up 65 percent of the portfolio, while energy storage systems represent 11 percent and backup generators account for 24 percent. With a significant share of energy industry technologies imported from abroad, the rapid development of this sector offers a range of opportunities for foreign businesses and investors. “Our task is to ensure that international investors entering Ukraine have a banking partner they can trust; one that combines local expertise, international standards, and a proven track record of financing growth,” says Butkova-Vitvitska.

Link to the interview: https://businessukraine.ua/oschadbank-offers-international-clients-maximum-reliability-and-convenience/

Business Ukraine is an English-language quarterly magazine focused on contemporary Ukraine. Established in 2007, it covers the economy, investment, politics, security, infrastructure, and social developments, helping international audiences better understand Ukraine, its potential, and opportunities for cooperation.