Up to 45% of Business Partner Lending Applications May Be for Transport

In the fourth quarter, transport purchases will remain one of the largest segments of partner lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Around 45% of applications in this area may relate to vehicles for business purposes.

This forecast was made by Oksana Shulha, Director of the Small and Medium-Sized Business Department at GLOBUS BANK.

This primarily concerns trucks, trailers, semi-trailers and passenger transport vehicles.

Another 25% of demand may be generated by purchases of production equipment — from small machine tools to specialised technological systems. Under favourable demand conditions, the share of loans for agricultural machinery purchases could reach 15%. The remainder will consist of specialised equipment for various business sectors.

At the same time, in the fourth quarter, the structure of demand for financing will be determined not only by entrepreneurs’ development plans, but also by the need to strengthen business resilience and energy independence.

According to Oksana Shulha’s forecast, SME lending will develop more selectively in October–December. Banks have sufficient liquidity, compete for quality borrowers and are developing their own and partner programmes. However, high war-related risks, inflation, additional costs associated with energy autonomy, logistics and recovery may discourage some entrepreneurs from taking on long-term debt obligations.

According to her, the most sought-after programmes will continue to be those that combine an affordable interest rate, a sufficient loan term, a manageable down payment, the possibility of government or partner compensation, and terms adapted to the specific business.

“Increased war-related risks do not in themselves mean that lending to small and medium-sized businesses will stop. Much more important is whether an entrepreneur sees a stable cash flow over the next few years and has sufficient financial resilience to withstand another potential shock. It is equally important for banks not simply to issue loans, but to develop offers that enable businesses to service them even under challenging conditions,” — Oksana Shulha noted.