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the signed agreement, the EBRD guarantees €60M. The unfunded risk-sharing instrument covers up to 50% of the credit risk. The advantages of the program are the opportunity to receive financing and develop, update, or strengthen your own business through investments in more ecological technologies that meet EU requirements, as well as the opportunity to receive a grant in the amount of up to 30% of the cost of a successfully implemented, regulatory-compliant, investment project.
8.1.4 Bank news
PrivatBank increased its six-month net profit by almost 400%. The state-owned PrivatBank's net profit for January-June 2023 amounted to UAH 29.75B, which is 370% higher than the figure for the same period in 2022. According to a PrivatBank report, in the second quarter of this year net profit reached UAH 13.7B, 430% higher than the net profit for the second quarter of last year. PrivatBank's net interest income for the year's first half increased by 81.4%, to UAH 27.86B. In the second quarter, the growth was 74.2%, to UAH 14.09B. Meanwhile, this year's net commission income in January-June increased by 41.3% to UAH 11.64B, and in the second quarter by 43.65%, to UAH 5.94B. A significant contribution to the bank's financial performance was made by reducing impairment loss in the first half of this year to UAH 769M. In contrast, in the same period last year, this figure was UAH 7.54B.
British companies risk their accounts being closed due to trade with Ukraine. Since part of Ukraine is occupied by the Russians, the British banks HSBC, Santander UK, and others may over-insure and close business accounts, explaining this by the need to comply with sanctions against Russia. Politico published a letter from British-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce (BUCC) Co-Chair Bate Toms to the Minister of Finance of Great Britain, Andrew Griffith, in which he describes the scale of the problem. In the letter, he notes that conducting even one transaction with Ukraine may lead to account closure. "British banks, as a rule, refuse to open accounts if any trade with Ukraine is envisaged," Toms writes. He warned that the economies of both countries suffer from such actions. Toms' information was confirmed by another business association - the British-Ukrainian Business Council. Its representative said account closures were an ongoing problem and added that he understood the banks' position but urged them to use common sense.
Ukraine is in the top five world leaders for contactless payments. For the past five years, Ukraine has consistently been among the top ten countries regarding the number of NFC payments. As noted by Mastercard, the share of payments with smartphones and NFC devices among all contactless payments in physical retail in the country crossed the 60% mark in the second quarter of this year. According to this indicator, Ukraine was among the leaders, together with Australia, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and the US. The company explained that such a rapid increase in NFC payments relates to the growing popularity of digital wallets, which allow users to turn a device with an NFC module - a smartphone, smartwatch, or fitness bracelet - into a convenient payment tool. Additionally, the spread of contactless payment technology is extensive. According to the NBU, almost 97% of POS terminals in the country accept contactless payments.
National Bank assets increased by 17%, and profit reached UAH 43B. The result of the NBU's activities, according to the results of the first half of the
60 UKRAINE Country Report September 2023 www.intellinews.com