The National Bank of Ukraine has eased lending and debt restructuring rules for businesses affected by war and Russian infrastructure attacks, Governor Andriy Pyshnyy announced on Facebook. Banks can now modify debt repayment terms for up to one year without automatically declaring a borrower in default. Pyshnyy said this measure applies when there are reasons to expect a business will overcome temporary difficulties and resume payments.
The policy gives companies time to stabilize operations while allowing financial institutions to support reliable clients. Pyshnyy noted that preventive debt restructuring was successfully used after economic crises in 2020 and 2022. He said those earlier measures helped debtors stabilize without harming national financial stability, and the central bank expects similar results now.
Agricultural collateral and loan terms
The central bank also introduced specific rules to assist the agricultural sector, which faces severe logistical challenges and storage needs. The NBU increased the liquidity ratio for collateral in the form of agricultural products from 0.4 to 0.75. Lenders can now value agricultural collateral based on actual remaining balances, while loan agreement terms for these contracts have been extended from 12 to 18 months.
Pyshnyy said the new rules will help farmers secure financing, fund crop storage, find alternative export routes, and maintain continuous production. In addition, the central bank created unified approaches for accounting two level portfolio guarantee instruments. Pyshnyy stressed that responsible risk assessment remains in place while providing banks flexibility to protect jobs, production, and economic resilience.
War continues to create severe problems for businesses, including damaged infrastructure, complex logistics, and working capital shortages. Pyshnyy explained that the central bank must act promptly so temporary difficulties do not cut off viable companies from credit. The measures follow earlier NBU recommendations for banks to support businesses and expand credit risk assessment options for agricultural goods in processing or circulation.
