State-owned PrivatBank has signed its first-ever agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) under the EU4Business Guarantee Facility Ukraine programme, unlocking access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine up to 100 million euro due to the €40 million guarantee facility.

The agreement between PrivatBank and the EIB Group provides for a portfolio guarantee covering between 30% and 80% of individual loans. This mechanism reduces the bank’s risk exposure and makes lending to entrepreneurs more accessible. 

The agreement will remain in force until 2040, making it a long-term element of Ukraine’s financial architecture for business support.

“This is a strategic agreement for us, enabling the scaling up of SME financing with the backing of European institutions. During wartime, when access to loans remains one of the key challenges for businesses, such instruments are critical to sustaining economic activity and supporting the country’s recovery. We are grateful to our European partners for helping us provide businesses with much-needed access to affordable financing. It is especially important that this is a long-term agreement, which once again confirms the partners' faith in Ukrainian business,” said Larysa Chernyshova, Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board (Chief Finance Officer), during the signing ceremony held on the sidelines of the CEE Forum in Vienna.

The programme is part of the European Union’s broader support for Ukraine. Given that PrivatBank serves around 60% of Ukrainian entrepreneurs, the new guarantee mechanism has the potential to deliver a systemic impact on the SME lending market.

From the beginning of a full-scale war PrivatBank secured guarantees from international partners, which together have created opportunities to finance Ukrainian business for almost 1.5 billion euros.