Piraeus Bank has joined a government-backed initiative to support Ukrainian entrepreneurs through state portfolio guarantees, reported Ukraine Business News.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved a draft resolution to provide nearly UAH15bn ($357mn) in state guarantees to 17 banks participating in the scheme, including Piraeus Bank, Oschadbank, Ukreximbank, Ukrgasbank, PrivatBank, FUIB, Pivdennyi Bank, ProCredit Bank, Taskombank, Bank Credit Dnipro, MTB Bank, Poltava-Bank, Radabank, Creditwest Bank, Altbank, VST Bank and A-Bank.

Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said the programme is designed to help micro, small and medium-sized businesses access loans on more favourable terms. “State guarantees on a portfolio basis serve as a tool to support micro, small, and medium-sized businesses by enabling entrepreneurs to secure loans under more favourable conditions,” he said. “The state assumes a partial obligation on the loan portfolio, encouraging banks to lend more actively to entrepreneurs, even during challenging wartime circumstances.”

Demand for the programme remains strong. In September alone, entrepreneurs received 506 portfolio-guaranteed loans worth more than UAH1.7bn, with the guaranteed principal debt totalling UAH904mn.

Since its launch in December 2020, the state guarantee mechanism has facilitated the issuance of 50,593 loans amounting to UAH163.5bn.

Ukraine’s banking sector has been increasingly turning to state-supported lending instruments to sustain business activity amid wartime risks, disrupted supply chains and high borrowing costs. The portfolio guarantee initiative complements other state-backed programmes such as the Affordable Loans 5-7-9% scheme.