Ukrainian banks in April-July 2018 focused on work with the population, according to the "Banking Sector Survey" for August posted on the website of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

Banks, in particular, continued to heavily lend to the population: in the second quarter in comparison with the first quarter net hryvnia loans to individuals increased by 7.4%. Due to this, the quality of the loan portfolio statistically improved: the share of non-performing loans at the end of June was 55.7% against 56.4% at the beginning of April.

High rates of inflow of individual deposits in the hryvnia were also observed in the reporting period: the growth in the second quarter from the first one was 8.7%. At the same time, more than two-thirds of deposits were attracted for up to six months.

At the same time, deposits in foreign currency decreased by 0.4% over the quarter.

The portfolio of corporate loans in this period underwent a seasonal decline due to the repayment of loans by large state-owned enterprises and short-term loans by tobacco and agrarian companies. As a result, net loans to business entities in the second quarter compared to the first one decreased by 3.8%.

At the same time, banks expect a seasonal recovery in business lending in the third quarter.

Business funds in the second quarter only began to return to banks after a seasonal outflow at the beginning of the year. The quarterly growth in deposits was 0.9% in the hryvnia and 4.2% in foreign currency in dollar terms.