Page 39 - UKRRptApr21

was positive and amounted to UAH7.865bn, the NBU said as cited by Interfax Ukraine.
At the same time, commission income grew by 15.9%, to UAH12.379bn The expenses of the banking system in January-February 2021 decreased by 5.8% compared to this indicator in 2020, to UAH28.598bn, in particular, payments to reserves by 21.9%, to UAH1.048bn. At the same time, commission expenses increased by 26.5%, to UAH4.715bn.
As reported, Ukrainian banks in 2020 reduced their net profit by 29%, to UAH41.3bn, but in the fourth quarter the decline was 63% due to increased payments to reserves.
In 2020, Ukrainian state-owned banks reduced their profit to UAH23.1bn
($832mn) compared to UAH34.2bn in 2019, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on March 10 as cited by Interfax Ukraine.
The state-owned PrivatBank accounted for almost two thirds (61.3%, or UAH25.3bn) of the entire sector’s profit, according to the Ministry of Finance, while the state-owned export promotion banks, Ukreximbank ended the last year with a loss of UAH5.6bn.
At the beginning of 2021, compared to January 1, 2020, the loan portfolio of clients decreased by 1.1% (by UAH2.5bn), the Ministry of Finance said.
"This situation is primarily due to quarantine restrictions. In the fourth quarter [October-December] of 2020, there was a slight increase in lending [by 0.1% or UAH200mn]," the ministry said.
At the same time, the volume of clients' funds showed an increase to UAH735bn compared to UAH609bn at the beginning of 2020, according to the data of the Ministry of Finance. In particular, the funds of individuals in state-owned banks reached UAH409bn compared to UAH309bn at the beginning of 2020.
"In 2020, their volume increased by 20.8% [by UAH126.5bn], in particular, funds of legal entities increased by 24.9% [by UAH62.2bn], funds of individuals – by 20.7% [by UAH70.2bn],” the Finance Ministry said, specifying that the growth in deposits of individuals was due to an increase in the amount of funds on demand.
39 UKRAINE Country Report April 2021 www.intellinews.com