REUTERS
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) estimates the level of non-performing loans (NPLs) in Ukraine at more than 40% as of today.
"It is difficult to boost lending with such a burden when there is no adequate protection of creditors' rights," NBU Deputy Governor Kateryna Rozhkova said during a round table talk in Kyiv.
If compared to other economies, such a share of NPLs is typical of countries with a slumping economy.
Read alsoNBU's refinancing rate lowered to 19% from Apr 22As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine's banking sector has an excess level of liquidity. As of January 1, 2016, the amount of banks' investment in deposit certificates issued by the NBU stood at UAH 89.265 billion.
Bankers do not incline to the immediate resumption of lending, claiming creditors' rights are safeguarded poorly in the country. They also point to the large share of bad loans and borrowers' low ability to repay loans.
The hryvnia loan balance at Ukrainian banks in 2015 shrank by 19.1%, to UAH 439.3 billion, while the balance of loans in foreign currency decreased by 20.3%, to $23.9 billion.