Bank lending in Ukraine continued to expand rapidly in August, with net hryvnia loans to businesses rising 33% year-on-year and household lending increasing 38%, according to preliminary data from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), reported Ukraine Business News.

The central bank said net lending provides a more accurate picture of current lending activity than gross loan volumes, which have been distorted by large write-offs of legacy non-performing loans.

State-owned banks wrote off a significant amount of such loans in December 2025. As a result, the impact of those write-offs will continue to distort year-on-year comparisons of gross lending throughout 2026, even though banks' underlying lending activity has not declined.

The expansion in lending has been accompanied by continued growth in customer deposits, suggesting that businesses and households are maintaining significant amounts of money within the banking system despite the war and broader economic uncertainty.

Hryvnia balances held by businesses in bank accounts increased by more than 22% year-on-year in August, while household hryvnia savings grew by more than 17%.

The NBU cautioned that the figures are preliminary and could be revised when it publishes its full monthly banking reports. The final data will provide a more complete picture of lending and deposit trends in the sector.