The European Investment Bank Group has signed EU-backed guarantee agreements with Ukraine’s state-owned PrivatBank and Ukreximbank to expand lending to small and medium-sized businesses during the war.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) — together the EIB Group — said the guarantees are supported by the European Union under its EU4Business Guarantee Facility, the European Commission reported on Thursday.
The agreements are expected to unlock up to €100 million in financing through PrivatBank and up to €50 million through Ukreximbank.
The EIB Group said the guarantees will allow the partner banks to expand lending on more favourable terms, including reduced collateral requirements.
More than 2,600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are expected to be supported through the financing, with a focus on companies displaced or affected by the war, businesses operating near conflict zones, and firms owned or managed by war veterans or internally displaced people.
Who is involved and what they said
“Ensuring continued access to finance is essential,” EIF Chief Executive Marjut Falkstedt said, adding that the EIB Group is working with Ukrainian banks to help small businesses keep operating during the war.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the EU is “assum[ing] part of that risk” through the guarantees, making it easier for thousands of Ukrainian companies to access financing.
PrivatBank chief finance officer Larysa Chernyshova said the agreement would help scale up SME financing during wartime, when access to loans remains a key challenge for businesses.
Ukreximbank management board member Viktoriia Masna said the guarantee would allow the bank to expand lending on more accessible terms and reduce collateral requirements, and added that an EU4Business grant component would provide extra support to vulnerable entrepreneurs, including women, young people and businesses in war-affected regions.
The EIB said it has been active in Ukraine since 2007 and has provided more than €4 billion in financing to the country since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
