According to the latest reporting of the National Bank, the number of unprofitable banks in Ukraine tripled: from 6 to 18 structures only within the first quarter of 2020. And at the top of the rating of losers is the state Ukreximbank which shows a negative financial result in the amount of UAH 1.7 billion. Credit Dnepr Bank is a runner-up, this structure is owned by oligarch Viktor Pinchuk at the moment, but Kharkiv businessman Alexander Yaroslavsky is going to buy it.

The full list of unprofitable banks on May 1, 2020 (according to the NBU’s data) is the following:

1. Ukreximbank - UAH 1.7 billion loss;

2. Credit Dnepr Bank - UAH 229.9 million loss;

3. Prominvestbank - UAH 77.2 million loss;

4. Sberbank - UAH 59.1 million loss;

5. Pravex-Bank - UAH 44.5 million loss;

6. BTA Bank - UAH 37.5 million loss;

7. Misto Bank - UAH 18.1 million loss;

8. Forward Bank - UAH 11.1 million loss;

9. Unex Bank - UAH 7.1 million loss;

10. Oxy Bank - UAH 5.3 million loss;

11. AP Bank - UAH 4.2 million loss;

12. Bank Ukrainian capital - UAH 4.1 million loss;

13. Ukrainian Bank for Reconstruction and Development - UAH 3.5 million loss;

14. Bank Trust Capital - UAH 2.7 million loss;

15. Piraeus Bank ICD - UAH 1.3 million loss;

16. Crystal Bank - UAH 991 thousand loss;

17. Alpari Bank - UAH 953 thousand loss;

18. Altbank - UAH 350 thousand loss.

The overall financial indicators of 75 banks operating in Ukraine are positive. On May 1, 2020, the banking system's profit amounted to UAH 25.2 billion. However, most of it falls on the nationalized Privatbank - UAH 17.3 billion. And the remaining 74 banks earned UAH 7.9 billion.

It is a well-known fact that the lion's share of Privatbank’s income is interest on deposit certificates of the National Bank and government bonds of the Ministry of Finance. The state has invested UAH 155 billion in the form of government bonds in the national bank, and now it calculates the interest on these securities and returns the funds to itself. Money goes around: the Ministry of Finance pays Privatbank interest on government bonds, and then Privatbank pays dividends to the budget. For example, 2019 dividends Privatbank should pay by the end of this month amount to UAH 24.5 billion - this is 75% of the profit. A significant increase in the real operating profit of a financial institution in this situation is out of the question.

A significant share of UAH 7.9 billion earned by 74 banks (excluding Privatbank) was in the top ten most profitable structures. Among the TOP 10 are:

1. Privatbank - UAH 17.3 billion;

2. Oschadbank - UAH 3.3 billion;

3. Raiffeisen Bank Aval - UAH 1.4 billion;

4. FUIB - UAH 995.9 million;

5. OTP Bank - UAH 679.9 million;

6. Citibank - UAH 605.2 million;

7. UkrSibbank - UAH 551.8 million;

8. Credit Agricole Bank - UAH 423.2 million;

9. Ukrgasbank - UAH 380.6 million;

10. Alfa-Bank - UAH 319.9 million.

The financiers, unofficially, acknowledge that a significant part of their income is not operating earnings, but disbanded reserves. This will be confirmed after the NBU’s checks and testing resume. But for now, this profit will be demonstrated at every corner to reassure investors and the general public.

Andrey Pshenichnyi for the site dubinsky.pro