Oschadbank, Ukrainian Petrol Group sign loan agreement for businesses on special terms for fuel purchases
State-owned Oschadbank and the UPG filling station chain have signed a cooperation agreement providing businesses with financing on special terms for the purchase of motor fuel, said Yuriy Voichak, director of Oschadbank’s sales department.
"We were the first among all Ukrainian banks to sign a cooperation agreement that allows all UPG clients who need it to purchase fuel using borrowed funds. The lending terms are 0.01% annual interest, for up to 12 months, unsecured. The loan amount is up to UAH 20 million," Voichak said during the Energy Finance forum organized by Oschadbank in Kyiv on Wednesday.
"In other words, farmers or other UPG clients can apply for financing. We have liquidity, we have sufficient funds, while the interest rate is minimal and the loan is provided without collateral. The procedure is as simple as possible," the bank representative explained.
He said that both the bank and the chain expect demand for financing from businesses. Voichak specified that the agreement between the bank and UPG was signed about a month ago.
In comments to Energy Reform, he said the bank is negotiating with other chains to conclude similar agreements.
"WOG and OKKO have already approached us. Negotiations are underway," Voichak said.
According to him, such an agreement creates a three-way benefit: the client receives fuel, the bank gains a lending client, and the filling station chain increases fuel sales volumes.
UPG owner Volodymyr Petrenko told Energy Reform that, according to his information, around UAH 60 million worth of fuel has already been sold under the lending agreement.
"Following the increase in fuel prices, about twice as much money is now needed to purchase it. Thanks to the loan, there is an opportunity not to withdraw working capital for this purpose. Our goal is to give consumers the opportunity to purchase the fuel we import from the United States and evaluate its high quality," Petrenko said.
As reported, UPG (Ukrainian Petrol Group) is a Ukrainian group of companies specializing in petroleum product trading. UPG is among the top three largest operators in Ukraine by number of stations. The group has its own logistics infrastructure and carries out direct fuel supplies from leading refineries in Europe and the United States. UPG was founded by Volodymyr Petrenko.
Earlier, Oschadbank, in its release regarding the new business program with UPG, which enables entrepreneurs to purchase fuel for seasonal work or current operations without burdening working capital, noted that its key advantage is the preferential interest rate of 0.01% per annum during the first four months of lending.
