The EBRD and IFC will support Ukrainian banks in commercial lending.

The EBRD might offer state-owned Ukreximbank a guarantee of up to €50M to cover as much as 50% of the credit risk on a portfolio of new loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) valued at up to €100M. The goal is to boost lending to private Ukrainian companies in key economic sectors. Additionally, under the EU4Business-EBRD credit line, up to €20M will be allocated to finance long-term investments by Ukrainian SMEs aiming to upgrade their technologies and equipment to meet EU standards. At least 70% of this amount will focus on investments in sustainable and green technologies.

Last week, state-owned Oschadbank and the EBRD signed an agreement enabling the use of the final (third) tranche of €75M for business lending, within the €200M portfolio mechanism for unsecured risk sharing.

Meanwhile, the IFC, part of the World Bank Group, plans to cover half of the risks related to state-owned PrivatBank’s new financial instruments. These include loans, guarantees, leasing, and other products valued at up to $100M, to support SMEs. France will also provide a guarantee for first losses of up to $22.5M, which accounts for 45% of the amount IFC intends to assume through risk sharing. Special focus will be on women’s entrepreneurship: With support from the Dutch government, the IFC will offer financial incentives totaling up to $800,000. Through blended financing instruments, the resources attracted by this initiative could potentially reach $120-150M.