Oleksandr Shcherbakha participated in a conference on housing construction and housing financing in the USA

Today in Orlando, Florida, IBS 2026 — the largest international trade show and conference in the United States focused on residential construction and housing finance — is coming to a close.

This year, the event brought together around 75,000 participants, with more than 26,000 companies from all U.S. states and 120 countries worldwide showcasing their technologies, projects, and financial solutions — from building materials and architecture to investment and mortgage programs.

For the first time in the history of the exhibition, a Ukrainian delegation participated in IBS.

With the support of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine’s trade office, a special panel discussion dedicated to Ukraine was organized at the conference: “Ukraine Housing Market: From War-Time Resilience to the Largest Reconstruction Opportunity in Europe.”

The goal of the discussion was to present Ukraine’s housing market not merely as a reconstruction target, but as a fully-fledged investment sector with concrete operational mechanisms for international partners — including risk mitigation tools and models of cooperation with developers and banks.

The panel featured Ievgen Metsger, Chairman of the Management Board at PJSC UFHC; Yevgen Favorov, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Association of Developers; Oleksandr Shcherbakha, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Ukrgasbank; and Raquel Martinez Sloan, Legal Advisor at the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Ukraine is already building a market that is clear and understandable for foreign investors, Ievgen Metsger emphasized. According to him, even under the conditions of full-scale war, the country has managed to establish a functioning housing finance system.

“Even amid a full-scale war, Ukraine is creating a fully operational housing finance market where international partners can enter under transparent and predictable rules. Over three years, our company has built a $1 billion mortgage portfolio under the yeOselia program. So we are not talking about aid to Ukraine — we are talking about rational, mutually beneficial partnership,” he said.

Representatives of the development sector also expressed readiness to scale up.

Despite the war, Ukraine’s housing market has not only withstood the shock but has preserved its growth potential, Yevgen Favorov stressed.

“Ukrainian development has survived the war and is ready to scale. To achieve this, we need long-term investment and technological partnerships — these are the areas where cooperation should focus. A strong signal is that major international institutions such as the EBRD, IFC, and others are already investing in Ukrainian development. In the future, those who establish partnerships with local developers today will have the advantage,” he said.

The banking system, in turn, has already demonstrated its ability to provide housing loans even since the start of the full-scale invasion, added Oleksandr Shcherbakha.

“Housing lending during wartime has already become a reality for the banking sector, and demand for mortgage loans under the yeOselia program is extremely high. At the same time, portfolio quality is exceptional — the level of non-performing loans (NPL) stands at 0%,” he noted.

For her part, Raquel Martinez Sloan of the U.S. Department of Commerce emphasized the importance of predictable rules for international business.

“The United States supports the creation of a predictable legal environment so that international companies can operate in Ukraine with confidence and for the long term,” she stressed.

Joint efforts between Ukrainian institutions and the U.S. market are opening opportunities for access to long-term financing, the introduction of new technologies, and the launch of modern housing finance instruments.

The parties will announce specific agreements and next steps in cooperation separately.

20.02.2026