By KYIV. Nov 8 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The net profit of solvent banks for January-September 2023 reached UAH 109.9 billion, while for the same period of 2022 this figure amounted to only UAH 7.4 billion, the press service of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reports.
“The main factor in the profitability of the sector remains the growth of interest income, primarily from highly liquid assets,” the regulator emphasized.
According to the National Bank, the operating income of financial institutions for nine months increased by 17.9% compared to the same period last year, and net interest income – by 38.7%.
“Despite the increase in interest expenses as a result of an increase in interest rates on deposits, interest income grew more significantly,” the central bank noted.
It is indicated that net commission income for January-September increased by 5.4% year-on-year, but at the same time its growth rate gradually slowed down due to the weak increase in transactions with payment cards.
The share of interest income of banks for nine months this year increased to 67.9% from 59.2% last year, while commissions decreased to 21.6% from 23.4%, and from foreign exchange transactions due to the stability of the hryvnia exchange rate – to 7.3% from 14.5%.
Overall, net operating profit before contributions to reserves increased by 23.9% – to UAH 139 billion.
Another factor in the sharp increase in profits was the reduction in contributions to reserves by 17 times – to UAH 5.7 billion. At the same time, the regulator recalled that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, banks have formed UAH 104 billion of additional reserves for loans.
Overall, the sector’s return on equity was 56.9% as of October 1, 2023, compared to 4.3% in 2022.
“The income tax accrued for nine months exceeded the corresponding annual figure for the historically most profitable year of 2021,” the National Bank indicated.
According to it, it amounted to UAH 19 billion compared to UAH 4.3 billion for nine months of last year.
It is reported that as of October 1 of this year, only six banks out of 63 solvent ones went into a loss, which in total amounted to UAH 155 million.
According to the NBU, based on the preliminary results of the stability assessment, banks generally adequately assess credit risks. However, possible adjustments to the assessment of assets and formed reserves by individual financial institutions may affect annual profitability indicators, the regulator clarified.
