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8.0 Financial & capital markets 8.1 Bank sector overview
Ukrainian banks are back in profit. The Ukrainian banking sector made a net profit of UAH13.8bn ($490mn) in January-August, according to the National Bank of Ukraine's (NBU).
The 2018 results were mainly attributed to the fact that retail lending and fee and commission income continued to drive operating income. The central bank believes that the banking sector will be profitable as of the year-end.
Meanwhile, the sector's revenue increased by 7.26% year-on-year to UAH128.4bn in January-August.
Over the past years, the NBU withdrew the licences of more than 100 lenders, in many cases because of involvement in money laundering or for a lack of transparent ownership structure. The number of banks operating in Ukraine fell from 180 in early 2014 to 82 today.
According to the NBU, the number of Ukrainian banks remained unchanged (82 lenders) in January-June. Two banks declared their intention to surrender their banking licenses and turn into financial companies. One bank will merge with another bank that has the same owner. Two other banks have also received the NBU’s authorisation for merger. Once these plans are realised, the number of banks will drop to 78, according to the regulator's August banking sector review.
Ukraine has “no problem banks left,” Kostiantyn Vorushilin, the managing director of the Individuals' Deposit Guarantee Fund, said in an interview with Interfax news agency published on September 13. "Today there are no
40 UKRAINE Country Report October 2018 www.intellinews.com