Mortgage rates for veterans will be reduced to 5-15% in 2025 – expert

Interest rates on bank loan programs for veterans to buy housing in 2025 will be reduced to 5-15% depending on the down payment and loan term, which is on average 1-2 percentage points lower than market rates, said Serhiy Mamedov, head of Globus Bank.

"The vast majority of banks in 2025 can introduce special veteran programs, and they will be comprehensive and all-encompassing: these are credit, deposit programs, free card services," he emphasized at the round table on Veteran businesses and how Ukrainian banks support our defenders on Tuesday.

In his opinion, under favorable economic and military circumstances, in 2025 the share of "veteran" loans in banks' loan portfolios could total up to 5%, and in 2026 – up to 15%. At the same time, the demand for mortgages and loans for small and medium-sized businesses, both for preferential state and bank target partnership programs for the purchase of fixed assets for doing business (vehicles, production equipment, etc.) could increase by 15-20%. As for preferential deposits for veterans, their share could exceed 7% of the total number of new deposits, and in 2026, it could exceed 20%. As the banker noted, more than 60% of such deposits will be long-term – from one year and up.

The expert emphasized that cooperation between banks and veteran associations and unions, which act as hubs and allow them to understand their real needs first-hand and implement them in banking products, will be important for the development of "veteran" programs. In addition, the adoption of draft law No. 19258 on veteran entrepreneurship will be important for the development of "veteran" business, which should unify approaches to defining "veteran" business (percentage in the charter capital of the enterprise, the number of employees who are participants in military operations). Cooperation with international funds and institutions that are ready to develop and implement joint preferential credit programs with Ukrainian banks, which will compensate for part of the interest rates, is also important.

The main goal of comprehensive veteran programs, according to the banker, is to create attractive conditions for veterans as clients, and not some special social class. Banks are able to help solve a number of urgent problems of veterans: from buying to starting and developing their own business. Currently, financial institutions are ready to offer reduced interest rates on loans for small and medium-sized businesses (on average by 1-2 percentage points), increased rates on hryvnia deposits (by 0.5-1 percentage points), and the creation of special card programs for their free servicing.

Bank Globus was registered in 2007. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of May 1, 2024, in terms of total assets, Globus ranked 26th (UAH 9.4 billion) among 60 banks operating in the country. As of July 2024, the regional network has 32 branches.