– What will change in your bank after the appointment of Philippe Brassac as the head of Supervisory Board?

– Mister Brassac is a former CEO of Credit Agricole S.A., an outstanding financier with over 40-year experience in the banking sector, who has dedicated his entire career to the Group. Over the past decade, up until May of 2025, he was the CEO of Credit Agricole S.A. and has made a significant contribution to the strengthening of the Group’s international positions, adhering to the vector of its key values, such as mutual support, resilience, and innovation.

Philippe Brassac’s appointment is a positive sign for the bank’s team and for the market as a whole. It highlights the long-term stability of Credit Agricole Group’s policies, especially after the beginning of full-scale invasion. During the most difficult times, he advocated for the uninterrupted operation of the Ukrainian bank, preserving workplaces, supporting employees, and Ukrainian
society.

– What results has the bank achieved this year?

– Over the last 9 months, our bank has proven to be one of the most effective ones: Net Banking Income reached UAH 6.5 billion, net financial result is UAH 3.6 billion, Cost-to-Income ratio is 35%. The bank safeguards the savings of our nearly 380,000 customers and finances economic recovery. Customer loan portfolio has reached UAH 32.4 billion (+15% year-over-year), the deposit portfolio is UAH 97.6 billion. Credit Agricole is among the systematically crucial banks, proving its importance for Ukraine’s economy. It is a reliable partner for the Ukrainian agribusiness and is one of the leaders in car loans.

– It is true, even during war, Credit Agricole continues to actively provide car loans. Can you explain the profitability formula for this business?

– The profitability of car loan business is very low these days, sometimes reaching zero. However, the product is secured by collateral, risks are minimal, loans are insured, and for this exact reason the bank can afford a small margin. Understanding that we support the country’s economy. Together with our partners, importers and dealers, we strive to create a product that would be the most affordable for the customer. This is our contribution to the development of the Automotive industry as a whole: we support our dealer partners who sell cars. And we continue to build relationships with our clients and get higher margins when they open deposits, use our cards, and daily banking. We have clients who are already buying their fifth car on credit from Credit Agricole, and this is the highest indicator of trust.

– What percentage of the car loan customers stay?

– Our aim is for 60 to 70% of these people to continue being our customers and use our daily banking.

– Zero interest rates for car loans returned to the market. Could you explain how they are “offset”? Could it be that manufacturers are returning a share of sales to you?

– Car loans, unlike, say, cash loans, are a complex product. There is a list of partners on this market that have to agree among each other: insurer, importer, car dealer, and the bank. Each of them contributes a share to make the final product as you see it. At the same time, the bank provides services for the whole industry.

– Could you tell us more about the prospects of loans for cars with mileage?

– It’s a very powerful sector of the industry, as it is larger than the sale of brand-new cars. Of course, the bank cannot finance all the agreements, because cars can be in various states, and is more oriented on the models that are no older than 10 years. The share of cars with mileage in our portfolio is growing and has already exceeded 10%.

– Do you finance any old cars, or only the ones from the trade-in lot?

– We observe that currently large dealer partners have begun to actively develop infrastructure in this market. They have wonderful processes of evaluating cars and preparing them for re-sale. That’s why it became safer to engage with the market. We have two products: secured and unsecured car loans, similar to cash loans. This is the only sector that will continue to actively grow, and that is the reason that banks learn how to work with the industry.

– What are the rates on such products?

– The interest rate on a collateral loans for a used cars can be 0.01% per annum, as well as for the purchase of a new one. There is currently no mortgage, so people who are buying the car are considered premium customers.

– Why do customers prefer cash loans, that are more expensive, over the secured ones?

– Because the customers are not aware that there are such cheap loans. Moreover, banks are not prepared to accept a collateral for the cars older than 10 years, or over the 300-thousand-kilometer mileage.

– How much will the car loan market expand with old cars taken into consideration?

– Each year, we expand our portfolio by 25%. In my opinion, such dynamics will prevail in the future.

– How does war affect this business? Are Ukrainians more cautious when it comes to getting a car loan?

– In 2022, everything stopped, including the regular life of Ukrainians. In February-March, we tried to grasp how to support our customers, who started whose demands were reshaped. At that time, we provided financing of all the cars for which warrantee solutions have already been issued before the start of the full-scale invasion. Our bank has reached full renewal of car loans in July of 2022. Customer payment behavior was consistently good, even among those who were abroad. A very interesting fact is that loan portfolio after the full-scale invasion is much better than it was before. The risk price almost reaches 0.

– Do you expect the downgrade in the portfolio’s quality considering the increase in providing loans for old cars that have an uncertain history of maintenance?

– From 2022, we personally know all the customers who defaulted on their obligations, there were just a few of them. There are cases like that among the unsecured car loans, but they do not exceed 15%. For cash loans, it is an incredibly low number.

– At the beginning of this year, when the possibility of taking away cars from those who evade military service became real, the showrooms reported the drop in sales. What is the annual dynamic of car loans?

– The number of car loans rises each year. When MPs make new statements about eventual tax increase, the number of loans grows. Soon, you will also observe an increase in sales of electric vehicles.

– How would you evaluate the density of the car loan market, if the war ends next year? How many players will there be?

– We have been working with car industry since 2009. Since then, we have consistently been among the leaders of the car loan market, in which private and public players appear and disappear. It’s not easy to get into the market because its ecosystem may seem simple at a first glance, yet it is not. In my opinion, the number of banks offering car loans will change, because it is difficult to work with low margins over the years – you should have a large margin of strength of the bank and the desire.

– Have you ever incurred losses in this specific sector?

– Never.

– Credit Agricole has witnessed all the crises in Ukraine, starting with the one in 1998, yet never tried to sell the bank like other non-residents. Do you have some kind of confidence in this market?

– At the beginning of war, our Group has swiftly arrived to a decision to stay in Ukraine. We adapted our strategy, and our aim is to invest into Ukraine’s recovery. Our bank has been actively financing different business industries. The parent ban actively supports our strategy and our team.

– How does Credit Agricole contribute to Ukraine’s recovery at the moment? Have you promised the authorities to finance any specific projects?

– We financially support our customers who are part of the energy and critical infrastructure: around 10% of financing of all the energy restoration capacities have been provided by our bank. We also attract foreign capital to Ukraine and cooperate with the EBRD and IFC within the framework of risk-sharing programs. This allows us to provide loans to enterprises located directly near the frontline. The social aspect is extremely important to us—since the beginning of the war, the bank has allocated UAH 190 million to charity with a focus on supporting hospitals. We are not waiting for the end of hostilities; we are already making our contribution to Ukraine’s recovery.

– What are Credit Agricole’s strategic plans for the near future?

– We have reinvested in the bank's capital to be able to lend more and support our customers. As a universal bank, we will develop daily banking for all customers with a focus on four industries: agriculture (from small farmers to large traders), IT, automotive industry, and energy.