Ukrainian state-owned lender Oschadbank recorded the largest increase in loans to legal entities in October, expanding its portfolio by UAH4.2bn ($100mn), the bank said on November 25, citing data from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), reported Interfax-Ukraine.

Oschadbank said its total loan portfolio to legal entities stood at UAH99bn ($2.3bn) as of 1 October. Of that, around UAH30bn were issued to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with the remainder allocated to larger corporate clients.

The bank’s net loan portfolio accounted for 13.6% of Ukraine’s corporate lending market at the start of October, securing the top position in the segment, according to NBU figures.

“Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Oschadbank has been directing its available liquidity to support the real sector of the economy,” said Yuriy Katsion, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board responsible for corporate business, in a press release. He said the bank’s corporate loan portfolio had grown more than 1.5 times — or by UAH23.5bn — during the war, with corporate borrowers now making up 70% of all loans to legal entities.

Oschadbank also remained one of the largest institutions in the sector overall. With total assets of UAH485.69bn at the beginning of October, representing 12.3% of the banking system’s assets, it ranked second among 60 banks in Ukraine, the NBU said.

The bank has positioned its expanding corporate loan book as a sign of resilience in Ukraine’s financial system, which has continued to function despite nearly four years of conflict and periodic damage to critical infrastructure.