Ukraine Signs Record UAH 21.5bn Loan Consortium to Finance Defense Production

On Friday, December 26, six Ukrainian banks signed the largest syndicated loan agreement in the history of Ukraine’s financial market, totaling UAH 21.5 billion with a three-year maturity and backed by state guarantees, according to the press services of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the Ministry of Defense.

Both state-owned and privately owned banks joined forces to finance one of Ukraine’s defense industry enterprises. A state-owned bank acted as the arranger of the syndicated loan.

The funds will be used to manufacture military equipment. The agreement represents a significant contribution by the banking sector to strengthening Ukraine’s defense industry and reducing the country’s reliance on imported weapons.

NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi noted that the banking sector already has experience in pooling resources to support critical industries, particularly the energy sector, helping it recover from large-scale Russian attacks.

"The new syndicated project in the defense sector logically continues this practice and demonstrates the ability of former competitors to unite for the country’s strength, as well as the financial system’s capacity to quickly adapt to the state’s strategic needs," Pyshnyi said.

Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal emphasized that financing the defense industry is a key element of national resilience during wartime.

"The scale of this consortium demonstrates banks’ readiness to support the defense industry and contribute to strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities. This means more Ukrainian-made weapons for our defenders," he said.

• The government is already supporting domestic manufacturers through concessional lending programs. In 2025, private defense companies raised nearly UAH 5 billion in financing.
• The Ministry of Defense has also allowed drone and electronic warfare producers to include loan interest costs in the price of their products.