National Bank of Ukraine publishes Bank Lending Survey showing record-high expectations for corporate lending growth

The National Bank of Ukraine released its Q3 Bank Lending Survey, indicating that banks plan to keep expanding their loan portfolios and further ease lending standards as competition strengthens. Expectations for corporate lending growth reached the highest net balance of responses since the survey series began in 2015. Demand for corporate loans rose slightly in Q3 and is expected to increase further in the next quarter for all business loan types except foreign-currency loans; household loan demand also increased and is forecast to keep growing. Respondents assessed corporate debt burdens as moderate and household debt burdens as low. Lending standards for businesses eased in Q3, driven mainly by large banks for long-term lending and loans to large enterprises, with further easing planned particularly for SMEs and short-term loans; consumer-loan standards also eased while mortgage standards were unchanged, though both are expected to ease going forward. Approval rates increased overall for corporate loans and for mortgages, and remained broadly unchanged for consumer loans, while banks reported higher operational and credit risks, a decline in foreign-exchange risk for the first time since early 2021, and expectations of rising operational and credit risks alongside lower liquidity risk in the next quarter. The survey was conducted among credit managers between 15 September and 6 October 2025, with 26 institutions responding (covering 96% of banking system assets), and the results reflect respondents’ views rather than NBU assessments or forecasts. The next survey publication, covering expectations for Q1, is scheduled for January 2026.