Ukraine and its international partners discuss the development of the housing finance system at the second meeting of the Advisory Council

Ukraine is working to establish a long-term housing finance system that will enable the scaling up of affordable housing programs, attracting private capital to the housing sector, and bringing the Ukrainian housing market closer to European standards.

Practical steps in this direction were discussed on May 4 in Stavanger, Norway, by participants in the second meeting of the International Advisory Council on Housing Finance Development in Ukraine. The event took place as part of the 38th plenary meeting of the European Covered Bond Council (ECBC).

The event brought together representatives of international financial institutions, industry organizations, and experts in the field of housing finance.

Ukraine was represented at the meeting by the Co-Chair of the Advisory Council, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine Vitalii Petruk; Chairman of the Board of PJSC “Ukrfinzhytlo” Yevhen Metsger; and representatives of the Ukrfinzhytlo team.

During the meeting, participants discussed the development of the housing finance system in Ukraine, the attraction of long-term capital to the housing sector, and further work on harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with EU laws in the field of financial instruments.

Key topics of the event included: the draft Law of Ukraine “On Securitization and Covered Bonds,” conceptual approaches to creating a unified housing finance platform, as well as further technical and expert support from the Advisory Council.

“Ukraine has been living under conditions of full-scale war for five years now. Through the occupation, shelling, and hostilities, many people have lost their homes, so we must tackle two tasks simultaneously: scaling up the eOselia program and other existing housing initiatives, and establishing a long-term housing financing system. At the second meeting of the Advisory Council in Stavanger, we compared our approaches with international experience and discussed with our partners solutions that should help attract long-term capital to the housing sector,” noted Vitalii Petruk, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue working on recommendations for the development of the housing finance system in Ukraine, including further harmonization of Ukrainian and European legislation, the creation of a unified housing finance platform, and the attraction of long-term capital to revitalize the housing sector.

Background Information

The International Advisory Council on the Development of Housing Finance in Ukraine was established under the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture of Ukraine with the support of the European Mortgage Federation – European Council of Covered Bonds (EMF-ECBC), with PJSC “Ukrfinzhytlo” participating as an observer.

The Advisory Council’s first meeting took place in September 2025 in Venice. At that time, the participants identified key areas of focus: the development of mortgage lending, securitization mechanisms, guarantee instruments, covered bonds, and the involvement of private capital in housing programs.