On May 5, 2026, the Financial Stability Council approved the updated Lending Development Strategy and Mortgage Lending Development Strategy. The update reflects the need to adapt the financial sector to new challenges, including prolonged wartime risks, economic recovery needs, and the gradual alignment of Ukrainian financial regulation with European Union standards.
The participants of the meeting also reviewed the implementation progress of the Lending Development Strategy approved in 2024. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, approximately 60% of the planned measures have already been implemented, contributing to a significant acceleration in business lending. The banking sector has expanded financing for companies operating in the energy sector, the defense-industrial complex, and businesses located in resilience territories. According to published data, net hryvnia-denominated business loans increased by nearly 36% year-on-year at the beginning of 2026, while foreign currency loans grew by almost 28%.
One of the key additions to the updated strategy is a separate focus on energy financing. This includes expanding access to lending for energy projects, as well as for businesses and municipalities implementing energy resilience and independence initiatives. The document also provides for further synchronization of financial regulation with EU standards and the achievement of official regulatory equivalence with the European Union. According to the NBU, the level of such equivalence has increased from 49% to 78% over the past two years.
Another important element concerns the transformation of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund into a National Development Institution. The new structure is expected to become eligible to receive EU international support programs, including funding under the Ukraine Facility framework. At the same time, the “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%” program is expected to become increasingly focused on the most vulnerable categories of borrowers and priority sectors of the economy.
The Mortgage Lending Development Strategy underwent fewer substantive changes. Members of the Financial Stability Council noted that progress in implementing mortgage reform remains slower than in the corporate lending segment. One of the reasons cited was delays in implementing certain legislative and regulatory measures that fall outside the direct authority of the Council. At the same time, the strategy preserves its core priorities: war-risk insurance mechanisms, improvement of state mortgage support programs, protection of creditors’ rights, increased transparency of the housing market, and development of construction financing instruments.
In practice, the updated strategies signal an attempt to move from a model of selective support programs toward building a long-term lending system capable of functioning both for businesses and for the housing market during wartime and throughout the future reconstruction period. For the financial sector, this also represents a continuation of Ukraine’s course toward integration with European regulatory standards and the expansion of mechanisms for attracting international financing.
Source: National Bank of Ukraine, materials of the Financial Stability Council, based on the materials provided.
