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Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine provoked an increase in internal and external risks, both for the country's economy as a whole and for the financial sector in particular. This has become a key challenge for our state, because it is the stable operation of the financial system that provides the necessary resources for victory. An important component of the financial sector is the domestic banking system, which with the beginning of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine has experienced significant shocks and functions in a regime of stress and uncertainty. At the same time, banks continue their activities, trying to fulfill all their obligations and comply with the norms established by the NBU. However, it is obvious that certain transformations are taking place in the banking sector. The banking system is forced to quickly adapt to functioning in the conditions of martial law, acting as a reliable pillar of the financial defense of Ukraine The paper discusses the features of the banking sector of Ukraine and the functioning of domestic banks under martial law. The changes that have taken place in the structure of the banking sector and banking infrastructure during martial law are determined. The key tendencies of the banking market during the war have been studied. The attention is focused on the issues of managing the credit risks of banks in the conditions of stress and uncertainty caused by the war and their ability to normalize their financial performance in the foreseeable future and take stabilization measures. The key principles and instruments of financial support for banks by the regulator have been identified. That is, the main elements of the policy of regulatory easing of the NBU regarding the activities of domestic banks in wartime conditions are outlined.

he main aim of the given research is to analyse Government policy early response due to the Covid-19 crisis in Central and Eastern Europe regarding SME support. The research methodology is based on an analysis of the pandemic impact on key indicators of countries development as well as an analysis of SME support policies responses by selected countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Ukraine). The dynamic trends of Covid-19 spread and its impact on macroeconomic indicators were analysed. The negative growth of GDP, as well as current account balance and increasing gross debt burden, were explored in all analysed countries and the policy responses were the required measures to avoid possible economic collapse. Implemented measures were mainly directed to achieve economic recovery and capturing stability, but the main focus of the research is to analyse the support policies according to the criterion of enterprise size, SME in particular. The study is based on country-level data as well as on individual State Aid cases of each analysed CEE country. It allowed to evaluate policy response mechanisms in terms of measures regarding enterprise size. Although SMEs suffered the most during the crisis, CEE countries spent most of their resources on supporting companies, regardless of their size.

The subject of the study is innovation vouchers as a modern tool to support "green" SME projects. Innovation vouchers are financial instruments that perform a number of functions for the development of SMEs. They can stimulate its cooperation between research institutes or universities in the development of innovations and implementation of innovative solutions. It can become an alternative more effective tool for the use of public funds. Innovation vouchers formed the basis of financial support for the implementation of the development strategy of the region in the context of smart specialization. In the countries of the Eastern Partnership, such tools are only part of the practice, while the OECD countries have been actively using them for more than 10 years. In this regard, it was decided to analyze existing SME support programs using innovation vouchers in OECD countries and to give practical recommendations for the implementation of foreign experience in the development of SME support policies in the Eastern Partnership countries. The main method of research is the analytical method. A critical analysis of the scientific literature and policy documents helped form the concept of the use of innovation vouchers by SMEs. The study analyzed 47 programs to support SMEs with innovation vouchers, which operated for 12 years (from 2008 to 2020). Both quantitative indicators (total value of the program with innovation vouchers, maximum voucher value, etc.) and qualitative data (target group, directions of innovation financing) were taken into account. Classification features of innovation vouchers, their target audience, distribution of programs among target group participants (SMEs, companies of different ages, universities, state research institutes, microbusinesses, incubators, gas pedals, science parks, etc.), cost of vouchers, validity of innovation vouchers were determined. The main conclusion may be that when introducing innovation vouchers as tools to support micro-, small- and medium-sized businesses, it must be taken into account that the circle of knowledge providers must be broad (it may include private and public research organizations, universities, and other relevant types of providers). The requirement for co-financing needs to be met as well in order to reduce the risks of inefficient use of funds. In addition, support for innovative enterprises should be broadcast at all levels: local and national. The following target stakeholder groups can benefit from the results of the study: research institutes, universities, SMEs, policy makers, government, NGOs involved in innovation support, etc.

The paper gives the theoretical basis of the peculiarities of the process of consumer lending in commercial banks – defines the economic essence of consumer credit, its objects, tools, stages of implementation and mechanisms for repayment of credit debt. An overview of the current state and development of bank consumer lending in Ukraine is presented. An analysis of the dynamics of assets and loan portfolio of Ukrainian banks, namely: analysis of loans to individuals and analysis of the volume and share of consumer loans in the total loans to individuals in the loan portfolio and assets of banks in 2015–2021. The peculiarities of the formation of the retail loan portfolio of Ukrainian banks are studied and the directions of improving the level of organizational and economic support of consumer lending of Ukrainian banks are outlined. A necessary condition for ensuring the stability of the banking system is the development of bank lending. Constant changes in the market of banking services and openness to the external environment require banks to constantly search for markets and lending mechanisms, including consumer credit. It is the development of consumer lending that determines the formation and increase of effective demand of the population, and thus the development of the economy as a whole. Therefore, the intensification of long-term bank lending available to borrowers is one of the most important tasks of Ukraine's strategic development. In recent years, there has been a growth trend in the consumer lending sector, which, on the one hand, has become an indicator of intensification of banks' lending, but on the other hand, rapid growth in retail lending has led to increased debt and unprofitable individual banks. Therefore, there is an objective need to increase the level of organizational and economic support for consumer lending to Ukrainian banks in order to avoid credit risk. An important way to increase the profitability of consumer lending is to improve the quality of loans. To this end, it is recommended to improve the work of the bank's departments for monitoring problem loans, the use of scoring systems, the introduction of insurance of financial risks of banks on card lending.

Banking is inevitably associated with risks. No matter what efforts the bank makes to minimize risks, they will always exist – the only question is to what extent. Lending operations are among the most profitable types of banking, but they are associated with a high level of risk. The instability of the economic situation in the country, the imperfection of the legal framework in this area necessitate a detailed study of the problems of minimizing credit risks. It should be noted that the choice of methods of credit risk management in the bank is quite relevant today. Credit risk management is the most important task of any bank, and choosing the right method of credit risk management will increase the stability, reliability and competitiveness of the banking system, which will positively affect the overall economic condition of the country. Credit risk is the oldest in the system of banking risks and occupies a prominent place. It is necessary to work out an effective system of using the tools recognized by the world banking community to minimize risks, given the possibility of their transfer from the bank to investors. The starting point in the development of the latest risk management tools of the bank should be the creation of a regulatory framework that will regulate this process. It is necessary to improve the existing methodological framework and develop a new methodological framework for credit risk management of the bank, concentrating the advantages of existing assessment methods, create a single method of assessing the borrower's creditworthiness, not to mention a certain algorithm for banks to form credit procedures. It is necessary to adopt the experience of foreign banks in credit risk management. The experience of foreign banks in developed countries, based on a detailed study of all credit procedures, multifactor analysis of the creditworthiness of potential borrowers.

The article proposes a methodical approach that determines the economic efficiency of the optimization procedure. It is expressed through transport gain - a potential reduction in the route of transportation of products compared to the initial transport scheme. The main task of logistics solutions in the freight forwarding system is to ensure the efficiency and flexibility of the vehicle management system. At the same time, the interaction of management bodies from the beginning of creation of the goods to the moment of unloading to its customer must be established. In order to achieve the goal of transport logistics - to fulfill deliveries on the specified conditions in the appropriate quantity, quality and within the stated time, it is necessary to dwell on the issues of operational management of transport and logistics activities. In the course of scientific research it was determined that in modern conditions the productivity of the production enterprise is largely influenced by transport costs. Therefore, there is a need to optimize traffic flows. The structural-logical scheme of the process of choosing the resource-saving technology for the organization of cargo transportation in small lots in the city connection for the meat processing enterprise is proposed. Such a mechanism will ensure compliance with the key rules of logistics and further enhance its own fleet of vehicles.

У статті проаналізовано механізми фінансової підтримки малого й середнього бізнесу внаслідок пандемічної кризи Covid-19 у країнах Західної Європи. Інструменти державного антикризового управління, які застосовувались у період березень-травень 2020 року, можна диверсифікувати за такими напрямами: підтримка закладів охорони здоров’я та виробництва супутніх товарів; гарантування позик; податкові пільги або звільнення від оподаткування; пряме субсидіювання щодо підтримки ліквідності; відстрочення пені та штрафів за прострочені заборгованості тощо. З проведеного аналізу було виявлено, що перші фінансові механізми підтримки було впроваджено 15 березня 2020 року, що свідчить про ефективність урядової політики країн Західної Європи щодо подолання кризи неекономічного характеру, зокрема пандемії Covid-19.

The focus of the research is to develop recommendations of smart specialization (SS) for Ukrainian policymakers using European approaches. The authors revealed that the main SS projects are presented in such sectors as agri-food, industrial modernization and energy. More than 12 EU countries were the plot for conducted analysis of SS, as a result of which the level of activity of each country was determined. The creation of consortiums, including SMEs, associations, universities and other participants, disclosed the successful way of SS realization. The structure of SME’s innovative potential in Ukraine was identified underlining their main characteristic features like types of innovations and innovative activity, differentiation according to enterprise size, their regional distribution. The authors explored lack of innovations on regional and national level and significant territorial disparities, which could be eliminated through policy implementation of regional SS. The existing legislative norms for possibility of SS implementation in Ukraine were analyzed due to correspondence with the EU ones. The analysis provides the opportunity to consider them only as general framework documents without any action plans and sectoral prioritization at all. The weak points of these law documents are emphasized. As a result of research, the authors developed recommendations presented by direct action plan for Ukrainian policymakers, which include such activities as underlining key priorities (especially ICT applicability in every SS project) and their correspondence with the EU ones; eliminating regional imbalances by focusing on innovation development and reorientation of some regions according to SS priorities; respecting regional existing capacities; providing organizational mechanism for cooperation of stakeholders and financial mechanism for SS support through the EU structural funds.

Regional development on the basis of smart specialisation entails the involvement of stakeholders in innovation processes such as business, public organisations, local government and academic sectors. Universities are the drivers of a region’s development because they have a broad research base. Using the methodology of the Joint Research Centre (European Commission), the impact of Sumy National Agrarian University on the development of the Sumy Region was assessed by such criteria as its cooperation with stakeholders, innovative infrastructure of the university, development of academic entrepreneurship, and its role in developing the region. The method of collecting qualitative data involved conducting structured interviews with the university administration and relevant departments. The collected data were analysed by content analysis. As a result of testing the methodology, its high level of applicability was noted in the Ukrainian academic space, outside the EU. It is recommended to use the method of assessing the impact of the university on the development of the region during the entrepreneurial discovery process, which follows the definition of priorities for the development of the region in the context of smart specialisation. The recommendations were given on the revival of cooperation with stakeholders, possible ways of developing academic entrepreneurship and building innovation infrastructure. The results of the research presented in this article may be used in university promotion within the region and the country as well in the context of smart specialisation. Policy makers may use the research results in order to provide regional innovation policy.

The main aim of the given research is to develop an appropriate approach for creation of information FinTech platform with the EU standards compliance mainly for SMEs in order to support innovativeness of SMEs, improve their access to finance and simplify different financial processes. The authors defined the main features of FinTech platforms underlining types of FinTech, its participants and the most influential factors. The main trends of FinTech platforms development in the EU countries, such as the level of investment, impact of EU FinTech platforms on the global scale, features of investments into B2B FinTech, were determined. It was considered that in Ukraine, some positive changes in legislation were adopted, but the challenges like lack of finance, slow adoption of innovations in the financial market, not sufficient clarity of legislation remain among the main constraints for further development of FinTech platforms in Ukraine. The conducted analysis on the level of FinTech types performance by Ukrainian platforms showed only the great share of digital payments and money transfers, while other modern innovative FinTech instruments should not be underestimated for proper FinTech application in Ukraine. For this purpose, the authors have developed the Information Platform on Support for SMEs’ Innovations that consolidates interests of both SMEs and scientists. To determine both the SMEs’ opinion about the necessity of a particular Internet platform for them and the types of services that could be provided by the sme-sci.com platform, the authors conducted a survey in which 374 medium-sized and 380 small businesses took part. The results of the survey that are presented in the article confirm the necessity of the Information Platform on Support for SMEs’ Innovations and demand for it from the SMEs. Finally, the result of the research proves that such a unique informational platform as sme-sci. com that will serve as an interactive field for exchanging ideas and information of both representatives of scientific and business world is of great importance.

Authors analyzed different conditions and the level of development of business, which exist in post-socialist countries by using international methodologies like “Doing business” and “BDO International business compass”. The main aim of the article is to reveal the main features of every economy analyzed by different criteria for identification the level of business development and its constraints in 2012-2016 in such countries as Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine. The presented analysis proves that some countries hold the leading positions for performing business represented by Estonia, Georgia, Czech Republic and not favourable conditions for such countries as Moldova and Ukraine. The list of advantages of the mentioned methodologies was described, among which the big databases, different categories of parameters, possibilities to overview risks and market potential, opportunities to make relevant comparisons are available. The disadvantages include lack of corruption level assessment methods and availability of financial and loan instruments for business. To conclude, it is reasonable to use international ratings for information asymmetry elimination and economy evaluation in different aspects.

The article describes the main components of the definition of the innovative potential of small enterprises and identifies the characteristic features of small innovative enterprises (SIE). The mechanism of innovation potential identification of SIE was developed, where the main activity risks, advantages and disadvantages were underlined. The present state of business in Ukraine, the share of innovative enterprises in business, types of innovation and the level of innovative activity of small enterprises were considered. The author developed the new model for identification and analysis of the effectiveness of innovative components aimed at improving the level of investment attractiveness of the enterprise. The mentioned model is taken into account the positive sides of existing assessment models of innovation and consists of 2 stages (point evaluating and analyses of six coefficient groups) and as a result the integrated indicator is calculated for evaluating the level of innovative effectiveness. У статті розглянуто основні складові визначення інноваційного потенціалу малого підприємства та виявлено характерні риси малого інноваційного підприємства. Проаналізовано сучасний стан розвитку бізнесу в Україні, питому вагу інноваційних підприємств у бізнесі, типи інноваційної діяльності та рівень інноваційної активності малих підприємств. Проведено аналіз існуючих моделей оцінки інновації, на основі якого розроблено методику ідентифікації та аналізу ефективності інноваційної компоненти з метою забезпечення підвищення рівня інвестиційної привабливості підприємства. В статье рассмотрены основные составляющие определения инновационного потенциала малого предприятия и выявлены характерные черты малого инновационного предприятия. Проанализировано современное состояние развития бизнеса в Украине, удельный вес инновационных предприятий в бизнесе, типы инновационной деятельности и уровень инновационной активности малых предприятий. Проведен анализ существующих моделей оценки инновации, на основе которого разработана методика идентификации и анализа эффективности инновационной компоненты с целью обеспечения повышения уровня инвестиционной привлекательности предприятия.

The article addresses the theoretical aspects of raising the level of socially responsible investing in Ukrainian companies for the purpose of implementation of the system of corporate social responsibility. Founded are the advantages of implementing the corporate social responsibility in the practice of Ukrainian companies. Determined are the areas of the strategy of development of corporate social responsibility and the role of socially responsible investment in improving the efficiency of socially responsible companies. Suggested is the mechanism of management of social programs in a company, the use of which will serve to ensure the due level of implementation of corporate social responsibility in Ukraine. Determined are the main criteria for the qualitative evaluation of social investment. According to the authors, the increased integration of Ukrainian companies to the social responsibility of global corporations can be achieved by adapting international practices to the domestic institutional environment to ensure implementation of international standards, principles and ideas that are based on the harmonization of social relations.