Ukrainian businesses increased the volume of soft loans by 34% over the year.

The total volume of loans granted under the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% program increased by 2% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and by 34% for the entire year, according to the Banking Sector Review for February.

It is noted that during the year, the volume of loans increased the most in the field of trade and energy supply in the fourth quarter, as well as in logistics and the food industry.

At the same time, the agricultural loan portfolio significantly decreased over the last quarter.

As well, the volume of the net retail hryvnia loan portfolio increased for three consecutive quarters: by 7.4% in the fourth quarter and by 20.3% in 2023. The growth is mainly due to brisk credit card lending by the two leading banks, the NBU added.

It is noted that portfolio quality normalized during the year, and the level of defaults decreased in all segments.