In Ukraine, almost half of the banks have foreign shareholders – research

Ukrainian banks continue to be influenced by the state, foreign capital and large business groups. The state controls the five largest banks in terms of authorized capital, while almost half of the institutions have foreign shareholders. At the same time, some banks are associated with well-known politicians and large corporations, which affects their activities and financial stability. This is reported by YouControl in its study, writes UNN.

The assets of operating banks of Ukraine, according to the NBU as of 01.02.2025, amount to UAH 3.4 trillion. In 2024, the income of banks amounted to UAH 507.3 billion, and in January 2025 – UAH 45.6 billion 

In particular, according to YouControl, most banks are registered in Kyiv — 46, 4 — in Lviv region, 3 — in Dnipropetrovsk region, 2 banks each — in Zaporizhia, Odesa and Chernihiv regions. While in Kharkiv and Poltava regions, one bank is registered.

The total amount of the authorized capital of all operating Ukrainian banks reaches UAH 408.5 billion. The leaders in this indicator are state-owned banks:

• JSC CB “PrivatBank” — UAH 206.01 billion;

• JSC “Oschadbank” — UAH 49.5 billion;

• JSC “Ukreximbank” — UAH 45.6 billion;

• JSC “Sense Bank” — UAH 28.7 billion;

• AB “Ukrgasbank” — UAH 13.8 billion.

In 2024, the state also nationalized “First Investment Bank” and “Motor-Bank”, which previously belonged to persons under sanctions.

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Banks with foreign capital

Almost half of Ukrainian banks have foreign shareholders: 26 banks with a share of more than 10% are controlled by international companies. At the same time, in 20 of them, foreign capital exceeds 95%.

YouControl analysts note that at the same time, the beneficiaries of 5 banks with foreign capital are citizens/residents of Ukraine:

• JSC “AVANGARD BANK” — beneficiaries Makar Pasenyuk and Kostyantyn Stetsenko;

• PJSC “MTB BANK” — beneficiaries Igor Zgurov and Mykhailo Partikevich;

• AKB “INDUSTRIALBANK” — beneficiary Igor Dvoretsky;

• JSC “TASCOMBANK” — beneficiary Serhiy Tigipko;

• JSC “UNIVERSAL BANK” / Monobank — beneficiary Serhiy Tigipko.

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11 of the 12 banks with the highest financial reliability index according to FinScore’s calculations from YouControl for the 4th quarter of 2024 are with foreign investments 

International banking and financial groups are actively operating in the Ukrainian banking sector, which provides a significant impact on the country’s financial market. Here are some of them:

• Citigroup Inc. (USA) – JSC “CITIBANK”;

• PKO Bank Polski (Poland) – JSC “KREDOBANK”;

• OTP Bank Group (Hungary) – JSC “OTP BANK”;

• SEB Group (Sweden) – JSC “SEB CORPORATE BANK”;

• ING Group (Netherlands) – JSC “ING BANK UKRAINE”;

• Credit Agricole (France) – JSC “CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK”;

• Raiffeisen Bank International (Austria) – JSC “RAIFFEISEN BANK”;

• Intesa Sanpaolo (Italy) – JSC “PRAVEX BANK”;

• Credit Europe Bank (Netherlands/Turkey) – JSC “CREDIT EUROPE BANK”.

Connections of banks with politicians and corporations

According to the study, 39 banks are part of 42 corporate groups, and 10 institutions are associated with politically significant persons (PEPs).

Among the banks that are owned or associated with politicians:

• “A-BANK” – Hryhoriy Surkis, ex-MP;

• “PUMB” – Rinat Akhmetov, ex-MP;

• “MIB” – Petro Poroshenko, current People’s Deputy;

• “TASCOMBANK” and “UNIVERSAL BANK” – Serhiy Tigipko, ex-MP;
• “ACCORDBANK” – Danylo Volynets, husband of the Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA Oksana Markarova.

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In addition, it is reported that the banks with the largest authorized capital are state-owned: JSC CB “PRIVATBANK”, JSC “OSHCHADBANK”, JSC “UKREXIMBANK”. 

A study of the connections of banks revealed their likely interaction with politically significant persons (PEPs) and corporate groups. Ten banks are associated with national public figures, and some banks are even directly owned by current or former politicians, including Serhiy Tigipko, Petro Poroshenko, Hryhoriy Surkis and others. In addition, 39 banks are part of large corporate groups, which is likely to affect their activities