Denys Shmyhal: banking sector unites to provide ₴21.5 billion in financing for the defense industry
On 26 December, six Ukrainian banks entered into a consortium loan agreement—the largest in Ukraine’s financial market history—amounting to ₴21.5 billion, with a three-year term under state guarantees.
Banks from both the public and private sectors united to finance one of Ukraine’s defense industry enterprises. A state-owned bank acted as the lead arranger of the consortium loan.
The implementation of the agreement opens new opportunities to scale up and modernize production within the defense industry.
“Financing the defense industry is one of the key pillars of state resilience during wartime. The Ministry of Defence spent more than four months working with the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance, and the banking sector to create the conditions needed to implement this consortium. The scale of the consortium demonstrates banks’ readiness to support the defense industry and strengthen the country’s defense capability. This means more Ukrainian-made weapons for our defenders. We continue to consistently implement initiatives to equip the Ukrainian military with modern weaponry. We count on continued support from the banking sector,” the Minister of Defence said.
He noted that the state already supports Ukrainian manufacturers through soft loan programs. In 2025, private enterprises in Ukraine’s defense industry attracted nearly ₴5 billion in financing. The Ministry of Defence has also allowed drone and electronic warfare (EW) manufacturers to include loan interest in their production costs.
The Minister of Defence thanked the consortium participants for supporting Ukrainian defense manufacturers.
“Ukrainian banks have already demonstrated a strong capacity to cooperate in support of critical sectors of the economy. In particular, the banking sector previously consolidated to finance and provide credit support to Ukraine’s energy sector, helping restore it after large-scale attacks by russia and ensure stable operations under wartime conditions. The new consortium initiative in the defense industry builds logically on this experience, illustrating how former competitors can unite to strengthen the country and how the financial system can swiftly adapt to the state’s strategic requirements,” said Andriy Pyshnyy, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.