On the initiative of the National Bank of Ukraine, the country’s largest banks have signed a Memorandum aimed at facilitating access to finance for defence industry enterprises. This was reported by the regulator’s press service.
The document was signed during a meeting at the National Bank by 23 banks with various ownership structures, representing more than 75% of the banking system’s net assets.
The memorandum establishes a structured practical framework with segmented participation models for different banks and borrowers and is intended to expand financing for the defence industry.
A participating bank’s signature confirms its recognition of the priority status of financing the military industrial complex (MIC) sector within its strategy, risk appetite, product lines, business structure and internal processes.
The Memorandum provides for four models of bank participation:
- consortium or syndicated financing for large-scale projects;
- direct financing for manufacturers of weapons, ammunition and military equipment;
- financing for dual-use goods;
- financing for small and medium-sized enterprises within the MIC under open contracts.
Under the Memorandum, the banks aim to adopt a considered and fair approach to pricing in order to ensure that financing terms remain accessible to defence industry enterprises.
They also intend to partially move away from the requirement for ‘fixed collateral’, accepting as loan security the financed asset itself or goods in circulation, property rights to receivables, guarantees from the state, international financial organisations or export credit agencies, insurance, or surety provided by an owner or affiliated company.
At the same time, the Memorandum outlines expectations regarding the actions of state bodies, enterprises and institutions, including the National Bank, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Defence Procurement Agency, PJSC Export-Credit Agency, the National Development Agency and others. According to the NBU, the implementation of these measures will facilitate a faster expansion of bank financing for the defence industry.
“We are ready to implement the steps expected of us by the National Bank and are already doing so: we are participating in the standardisation of documents for syndicated lending, providing the necessary clarifications, and calibrating our regulatory requirements, particularly regarding credit risk assessment,” commented NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy. “Financing for the defence industry is growing rapidly. According to the survey, the increase in loans and guarantees provided to the sector in 2025 exceeded UAH 60 billion. And this is just the beginning.”