It’s time to invest in Ukraine

Alexandre Tchesnakoff,
Member of the Management Board at Credit Agricole

Credit Agricole is a reliable partner for the Ukrainian customers for more than 31 years, due to the support of the international Credit Agricole Group (France) that is in TOP-10 the largest banks worldwide, efficient team work and balanced risk-management.

Agriculture is in the DNA of our bank, since Credit Agricole Group was founded 130 years ago as a bank for farmers, and in Ukraine we operate over 15 years as a strategic partner for agribusiness and is the best bank for agribusiness according to the "TOP-100: Ratings of the best" and Delo in 2024.

During the war and especially now, the period of active harvest-work, agrarians face a number of challenges, namely blackouts, lack of qualified labor pool, as well as extreme heat that threaten the harvest. And our mission is to assist the agribusiness. With respect to the Ukrainian land and long-standing traditions of farming, we offer reliable everyday banking, effective financial solutions and profound expertise of our team.

CAU has almost 60 partnership programs to provide a full cycle of turnkey service for agrarian customers, so they can focus on the principal issues − land, crops and innovation. 

Credit Agricole offers financing the purchase of agricultural machinery and equipment, working capital financing and leasing services in partnership with leading manufacturers and distributors, namely John Deere, Fendt, New Holland, Wielton, MAN, etc.

The bank supports agribusiness in Ukraine: 50% of our corporate loan portfolio is aimed specifically at financing this direction. And the agrarian customers reciprocate: about 80% of them stay with us for more than 5 years, and almost half − for more than 10 years. We are grateful to everyone for their loyalty and pledge to justify it in the future.

We don’t stop investing in the future of the agricultural sector, that’s for sure. To illustrate the point, in 2018 the bank has launched educational project, AgroSchol. Theoretical knowledge and practical skills in agribusiness have already been mastered by 85 students of the project, which always helps us to understand better the needs of customers and offer effective solutions.

The important direction of our work is the sustainable development and promotion of ESG-principles of corporate governance of companies (environmental, social, governance). As part of the sustainable development strategy that we have launched at the bank this year, we strive to help Ukrainian companies achieve international production standards by saving energy, resources and reducing carbon footprint. In partnership with the EBRD, we offer our customers a grant (cashback) of up to 20% of the financing amount for such equipment. Moreover, recently, we have signed an agreement with Rayton, the leading solar energy market participant, and offer customers favorable loan terms for the construction of solar power plants. The sustainable development values are vital to us, thus we are interested in investments aimed at environmental friendliness and energy efficiency.

Another of our missions, as a large international bank, is to attract foreign investments to Ukraine. The bank has signed new agreements with the EBRD and IFC in the amount of EUR 50 million and EUR 40 million, respectively, to support agriculture. First of all, it concerns reconstruction.

We continue working continuously and demonstrating a positive financial result. We believe in the potential and strength of Ukrainian agribusiness, so we will continue to invest the profit, generated by the bank, in Ukraine. Furthermore, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the bank has allocated almost UAH 150 million to charity and support for hospitals and those affected by the war.  Because now it’s time to invest in Ukraine!