NBU Shields War-Hit Borrowers From Default, Lets Farmers Borrow More Against Grain
NBU resolutions No. 88 and No. 89, signed by Governor Andriy Pyshny on Aug. 7, 2026, let banks restructure war-affected debt without recording default, raise agricultural collateral value from 40% to 75% of stock, extend farm-loan terms to 18 months, and set new risk formulas for loans backed by international partner guarantees, including under EU's Ukraine Facility.
Ukraine's central bank has implemented new regulations on August 7, 2023, to aid war-stricken borrowers and agricultural producers. Resolutions No. 88 and No. 89, effective from August 8, amend the bank's wartime operating rules and credit risk calculation methodology. The changes come amid Russia's port strikes, which have curtailed deep-water grain exports, with exporters turning to alternative routes.
Banks have until September 30 to update their internal documents and Dec. 1 to report the first credit risk calculations under the revised methodology.
Under the new rules, banks are exempt from recording a formal default when they grant short-term debt restructuring to businesses or sole proprietors, lasting up to a year, due to financial difficulties linked to the war. This relief applies only to restructurings between July 1, 2026, and Sept. 1, 2027, provided the borrower can recover and resume payments without further loan term changes.
The central bank also introduced changes to accommodate Ukraine's agricultural sector, affected by Russian strikes on grain export routes. Banks can now count the full volume of grain in warehouses when calculating loan amounts, allowing producers to borrow more. This move aims to cover working-capital gaps, storage costs, and alternative export route searches, thus sustaining production cycles.
Additionally, the bank revised how it calculates credit risk for loans backed by portfolio-based guarantee instruments, introducing updated formulas and reimbursement procedures for guarantors.
These adjustments were developed with international partners, including the EU's Ukraine Facility, to encourage broader use of guarantees. The list of eligible collateral has been expanded to include counter-guarantees, alongside standard guarantees and standby letters of credit. Furthermore, the NBU clarified how banks should account for arrears when individuals repay loans using overdrafts or credit cards, standardizing the process across the sector based on supervisory analysis of existing bank practices.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
