Residents' deposits in Ukrainian banks in January of this year decreased by 2.1%, or UAH 49.2 billion – to UAH 2.3 trillion, a decrease in deposits was recorded for the first time since August 2022, according to statistics from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

According to it, household deposits fell in January by 2.5%, or by UAH 27.4 billion, to UAH 1.05 trillion. Their previous decrease was recorded in May and January last year, but then it amounted to less than UAH 1 billion and less than UAH 4 billion, respectively.

The NBU clarified that both deposits in hryvnia decreased by 2.6%, or UAH 18.8 billion, to UAH 692.2 billion, and in foreign currency by 2.1% in U.S. dollar equivalent, or $200 million, to $9.47 billion.

Business deposits in the first month of the new year decreased by 1.7 percentage points, or UAH 21.8 billion – to UAH 1.3 trillion. This is due to a drop in hryvnia deposits by 3.5%, or UAH 32.5 billion, to UAH 884.85 billion. At the same time, foreign currency deposits in dollar terms increased by 3.2%, or $310 million, to $9.89 billion.

The average rate of new hryvnia deposits for the population in January remained the same – 11.7%, while for the corporate sector, after a pause in December, it dropped by 0.3 percentage points (p.p.), to 9.9%, returning to the level of November 2022.

As for foreign currency deposits, their profitability for individuals for the fourth month in a row remained at about 1.0% per annum, while for legal entities it gained 0.2 percentage points, returning to the figure for August last year – 0.7% per annum.

In January, the six-month growth trend in the loan portfolio was also interrupted: it decreased by 0.5%, or UAH 4.76 billion.

According to the regulator, the reason was a reduction in the loan portfolio of legal entities by 1.2%, or by UAH 8.88 billion, to UAH 748.10 billion. The largest outflow of loans was recorded in foreign currency: a decrease in the portfolio by 2% in U.S. dollar terms, or $120 million, to $6.23 billion, while in the national currency the portfolio decreased by 0.7%, or by UAH 3.51 billion, to UAH 512.35 billion.

At the same time, the loan portfolio of individuals increased by 2.1%, or UAH 4.76 billion, to UAH 227.31 billion due to an increase in hryvnia loans by 2.3%, or UAH 4.90 billion, to UAH 215.49 billion, while the foreign exchange portfolio again decreased by 0.9%, to the equivalent of $312 million.

According to the National Bank, rates on hryvnia loans to business and households increased by 0.6 percentage points – up to 18.1% and 0.9 p.p. – up to 34.6% per annum, respectively. While rates on foreign currency loans for legal entities increased by 0.3 percentage points, to 6.7%, and for individuals, on the contrary, dropped by 1.4 percentage points, to 5% per annum.

Interbank lending and overnight rates, as indicated by the central bank, decreased by 0.4 percentage points in January, to 14.6% and 14.5% per annum, respectively.