Page 37 - UKRRptNov21

8.1.1 Earnings
Ukrainian banks made a profit of nearly $2bn in January-September 2021, their best results in the last decade, the National Bank of Ukraine reported on October 29.
The NBU said that 71 Ukrainian banks collectively made a total net profit of nearly $2bn over the last nine months, which is nearly $525mn more than in January-September last year. According to the report, 64 out of 71 banks in Ukraine remained profitable in 2021, while 7 banks reported losses.
There are many factors that boosted the performance of Ukrainian banks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, economists said. Among them are the economic growth in 2021, rapidly increasing consumer demand, and the rising popularity of online and card payments, according to Ukrainian economist Eugene Dubogryz.
Another reason, according to the NBU, is the reduced allocation of money to the state monetary reserves, which regulate the money supply in the country and back up the value of the national currency.
Over the last nine months, money transfers to the reserves decreased by over 60% — from $800mn in 2020 to $266mn this year, according to the NBU. As of September 2021, Ukraine’s monetary reserves held $28bn of assets, 90% of them were in foreign currency.
According to the NBU’s survey in October, banks hope to increase the flow of capital from citizens and businesses in the next 12 months.
37 UKRAINE Country Report November 2021 www.intellinews.com