Yurii Katsion: 50% of major loan projects currently under consideration at Oschadbank are investment projects

Ukraine’s financial system is highly liquid now, and the rate of growth in funds on customer accounts significantly exceeds the rate of investment in the real sector. Despite this, banks remain highly willing to lend for capital investments and take risks.

It was emphasised by Yurii Katsion, Chairman of the Management Board of Oschadbank, in his speech at the Strong and Sustainable Ukrainian Energy Sector conference organised by Concorde Capital.

Yurii Katsion noted that risk appetite in the banking sector, particularly regarding long-term capital investments and project financing, is currently at one of the highest levels on record. State-owned banks demonstrate significant activity in this area responding to market demand.

“As to Oschadbank, 27% of our corporate loan portfolio currently consists of capital investments. Furthermore, within the structure of new projects currently under consideration in the large corporate business segment, a half (50%) of them consists specifically of investment financing and capital investments aimed at business development and recovery,” emphasised Oschadbank’s CEO.

As at the end of 2025, the total volume of loan agreements concluded by Oschadbank in the segment of large corporate business stood at over UAH 31.5 billion. A significant portion of the funds was applied towards energy projects, driven by the destruction of infrastructure and the emergence of high demand for energy independence.

Oschadbank’s CEO noted that the energy market offers a high rate of return to investors: due to the current capacity shortage and price levels, the payback period for certain large-scale energy projects is less than three years.

According to his estimates, an active ‘window of opportunity’ for transforming and developing the country’s new energy model with the involvement of private capital will last for the next 1.5–2 years. This period coincides with Ukraine’s European integration processes, which will eventually require a transition to stricter European business regulations. In the opinion of the bank`s leader, businesses should make the most of this time to implement major investment projects.