Ukraine to Offer 7% of PrivatBank in Public Share Sale: Investor Eligibility

PrivatBank Share Offering to the Public

According to Главком: Ukraine is preparing to sell a 7% stake in PrivatBank through a public offering, aiming to raise 18 billion hryvnias. This initiative, developed by former National Securities and Stock Market Commission head Ruslan Magomedov, comes as the banking sector sees a significant reduction in non-performing loans (NPLs). This move represents a key step in the government's long-term strategy to reduce its stake in the bank it nationalized in 2016.

Lending Climate in Ukraine

In 2025, the volume of corporate loans in hryvnia contracted by 2%. Notably, in December, PrivatBank derecognized approximately 140 billion hryvnias in old non-performing hryvnia assets. The NPL ratio stood at 24% on December 1, 2025, but dropped sharply to 14% by January 1, 2026. State-owned banks hold an NPL ratio below 20%, compared to 8.4% for privately-owned banks with Ukrainian capital and 6.5% for those with foreign capital.

Despite the corporate loan contraction, net new hryvnia lending to businesses grew by 35.6% year-on-year in December 2025, while net new loans to households increased by 32%. For the full year 2024, net business loans grew by 21% and household loans by 38%. In 2025, net hryvnia lending to private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rose by 32.9%, and lending to large private companies grew by 29.7%.

“In December, PrivatBank derecognized about UAH 140 billion in old non-performing hryvnia assets. Other state banks also wrote off significant volumes of such assets. However, the annual growth in new bank lending has almost compensated for these write-offs.”

National Bank of Ukraine

The regulator notes these are historically the lowest NPL figures in over 15 years, a result of systematic efforts to implement measures for reducing NPL levels in the financial sector.

The derecognition of old non-performing assets led PrivatBank to accrue additional profit tax, doubling its profit tax expenses and causing a contraction in its post-tax profit indicator.

The continued reduction in NPLs and a successful public share offering could significantly impact the financial stability of PrivatBank and the banking sector overall. The NPL decline, achieved through the write-off of legacy assets, signals positive changes in risk management and lending practices. This progress may also boost investor confidence and help attract new capital into Ukraine's banking system.