Ukrainian Banking Sector: Over 20% of Banks Remain Loss-Making with Notable Financial Changes
As of the first half of 2024, Ukraine’s banking industry has shown both resilience and significant challenges.
The total profit before tax generated by the sector exceeded 100 billion hryvnias, reflecting a generally stable performance by most financial institutions.
However, alarming are the figures revealing that nearly every fifth bank in the country continues to operate at a loss, highlighting vulnerabilities within the banking system.
The sector’s pre-tax income remained roughly at last year’s level — around 100 billion hryvnias, with tax payments amounting to nearly 22 billion hryvnias.
After taxes, banks had about 78 billion hryvnias left.
Of particular concern is that 13 banks reported losses, indicating internal issues and potential risks for sector stability.
The top ten banks by profitability maintained their positions, with almost half of the total sector profit accruing to PrivatBank, the dominant player, contributing significantly to the national banking income.
As of mid-year, PrivatBank earned 34.88 billion hryvnias in profit and paid over 11 billion hryvnias in taxes.
Some banks demonstrated remarkable growth; for example, Metabank’s profits surged by 118 times.
Meanwhile, PrivatBank’s profit increased by 14%.
The state sector’s nearly 50% profit share underscores the bank’s critical role in the economy.
Conversely, foreign banks experienced a nearly 25% decline in profits, totaling approximately 16.6 billion hryvnias, with Raiffeisen Bank leading the way thanks to a 10% growth, earning around 4.7 billion hryvnias.
Private banks faced a similar downturn; their combined profits decreased by a quarter to about 10 billion hryvnias, with PUMB reporting a 7% decline to 3.57 billion hryvnias.
ULS bank and MonoBank, together, account for roughly 59% of private sector earnings.
Over a quarter of private banks ended the first half of 2025 with losses, indicating internal sector challenges.
Overall, the stability of Ukraine’s banking industry remains a key issue, demanding ongoing monitoring and strategic measures to prevent further deterioration.