Bank profits fell by third to UAH 26 billion in Q1

In the first quarter of this year, banks earned UAH 26 billion, which is a third less than in the same period last year (UAH 40 billion).

This is stated in the NBU report, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

Profit before tax of solvent banks in the first quarter of 2026 increased by 6.4% year-on-year. At the same time, net profit due to the application of an increased income tax rate (50%) was a third less than a year ago - UAH 26 billion.

Due to the growth in the volume of active operations, in particular, the active development of lending, against the background of maintaining a high net interest margin (7.6%), net interest income increased by 19.8% year-on-year.

The share of interest income from loans in banks' interest income in the first quarter was higher than in the previous year. During the quarter, it gradually increased - to over 46% in March, respectively, the share of income from high-quality liquid assets decreased during the quarter, primarily due to income from NBU certificates of deposit.

Net commission income also continued to grow - the indicator for the first quarter increased by 6.5% y/y.

Despite the somewhat faster growth of operating expenses compared to operating income, the operating efficiency indicator (ratio of operating expenses to operating income, CIR) has remained at a low level for more than 3 years - 40.7% in the first quarter.

Net operating profit before deductions to reserves for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period of the previous year increased by 14.0%. Deductions to reserves remain moderate.

The resulting profit supports the capital of banks and their lending potential, while the introduction of an increased income tax at a rate of 50% in 2026 offsets this positive effect.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in 2025, banks received UAH 126.5 billion in net profit, and their accrued income tax amounted to UAH 84.8 billion.

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