The National Bank of Ukraine took another step in the direction of harmonizing its banking regulation with EU norms, having installed the minimum value of the leverage ratio for banks and banking groups at the level of 3%.
This decision was made on the basis of the analysis of test calculations of this indicator, which banks began to conduct from April 2025. In the process, the results of the calibration carried out by the National Bank were taken into account.
The requirement to comply with the minimum value will come into effect for banks from September 1, 2025, and for banking groups from April 1, 2026. To ensure a smooth transition to the new conditions, the test period has been extended until the end of August 2025. During this time, banks must make daily calculations of the leverage ratio.
It is expected that the introduction of these requirements will strengthen the financial stability of individual institutions and the banking system in general, as well as make Ukrainian regulation more compliant with the standards of the European Union.
The corresponding changes were approved by the Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine No. 68 dated June 23, 2025 “On Amendments to Certain Regulatory Acts of the National Bank of Ukraine on the Regulation of the Activities of Banks and Banking Groups”.
The leverage ratio is an additional indicator of the adequacy of Tier 1 capital to cover risks, which does not take into account the riskiness of assets (unlike other ratios). Its introduction in the world was a reaction to the financial crisis, which revealed an underestimation of the risks of a number of assets. According to the rules of the Basel Committee and the EU Regulation on Capital Requirements (CRR), this indicator should not be lower than 3%.
Testing in Ukraine showed that when such a threshold is established, about 40% of banks will be limited by this standard. If the minimum level is raised, the number of such banks will grow disproportionately.
