Ukraine’s Credit Market in 2025: Changing the Rules, Growing Trust, and New Credit History Laws
In the autumn of 2025, Ukraine’s credit market is experiencing unusually dynamic growth, even compared to the pre-war years. Official data from the National Bank confirm: net hryvnia loans to businesses in September 2025 increased by 30.8% year-on-year, while for individuals the figure was 32.9%. Gross loans, which include non-performing ones, grew by 17.8% for businesses and by 24.7% for households. However, it is net loans that are the key indicator of real activity they show how many Ukrainian companies and citizens are actually raising credit resources and servicing their obligations.
The situation with so-called non-performing loans remains critical. At the end of August 2025, their share in the banking sector reached 25.3%. This means that every fourth hryvnia in banks’ credit portfolios is formally “frozen” and does not bring the expected results.
It is important to understand: gross loans include all loans both serviced and those that are essentially “dead capital.” Therefore, net loans are a more accurate indicator of real dynamics. The growth of the net portfolio signals a return of trust in the financial system, the emergence of new investment projects, and a gradual recovery of business activity even under conditions of war.
Legislative Innovations: The New Law on Credit History
This year, the Verkhovna Rada adopted an important draft law in the first reading “On Credit History,” which is expected to significantly change the rules of the game for all market participants. The aim is not just to improve the service but also to protect borrowers’ rights, increase market transparency, reduce the risk of fraud, and meet the requirements of the IMF and European standards.
Key Provisions of the Law:
- Strengthening oversight of credit history bureaus with clearly defined requirements for ownership structure, management reputation, internal controls, and cybersecurity.
- Creation of a public electronic register of bureaus, which will enhance transparency for all market participants.
- Updating and storage of information: defined periods for data storage (up to 10 years), mechanisms for their updating, deletion of inaccurate information.
- Borrowers’ rights: access to their own history, the ability to dispute or remove inaccurate data, and, during martial law, access for relatives in case of disappearance or death of the borrower.
- Data protection: strict prohibition on the transfer of information without the borrower’s consent, sanctions for violations.
- Cross-border data exchange: permitted only with the consent of the subject and with a defined list of countries; strictly prohibited with aggressor states.
- Enhanced NBU supervision: the regulator receives extended powers for control and sanctions.
Compliance with International Commitments
As noted in the explanatory note, the new law is not just a response to internal challenges but is also part of a systemic reform within the framework of the IMF memorandum. Its adoption does not require additional budget expenditures but will allow Ukraine to significantly improve the quality of credit portfolios, reduce the share of toxic loans, and lower risks for the entire banking system. In parallel, the NBU is changing its approaches to assessing the financial results of enterprises, especially in front-line territories affected by war or natural disasters. This is part of adapting the market to new challenges and supporting business viability under difficult conditions. Against the backdrop of war and global economic turbulence, Ukraine’s credit market demonstrates unexpected resilience and flexibility. On the one hand, the growth of lending is a sign of renewed trust. On the other, the high share of problem loans and the need for reforms point to vulnerabilities in the system that still require modernization, particularly in protecting borrowers’ rights and ensuring data transparency.
Ukraine’s credit system in 2025 is no longer what it was a few years ago. It faces new challenges and responds through legislative changes and institutional reforms. Whether the new law on credit history and other measures will help bring the market out of the “shadow,” make it more resilient and secure is a question for the next several years. However, the trend toward growth in net loans is a real signal of restored confidence and potential for further economic development even during wartime.
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