Poland’s financial technology (fintech) company Zen prevailed at the auction for insolvent PINbank, while Ukrainian Asvio Bank secured Motor-Bank, Ukraine’s Deposit Guarantee Fund announced, concluding a months-long sale process for the two banks.
Banking M&A in Ukraine celebrates another deal, as Ukraine’s financial institutions remain attractive assets despite the war and lure foreign investors. The fund announced the winner during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.
Polish Zen bought PIN bank by purchasing the whole institution, while Asvio bought Motor Bank’s assets and liabilities through Purchase and Assumption agreement.
PIN bank’s purchase requires approval from the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and the Anti-monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) before April 15. The deal will be closed after NBU’s and AMCU’s greenlight. The fund had declared both banks insolvent on Feb. 19, citing capital shortfalls and sustained losses.
What is Polish fintech Zen
Zen, headquartered in London and licensed in the Bank of Lithuania, was founded in 2018 in Rzeszów by entrepreneur Dawid Rożek. The fintech operates in 35 European countries as a multi-currency payments platform. The company is not a newbie to the Ukrainian market – it previously partnered with PrivatBank, enabling transfers from 31 countries worldwide.
Former Polish President Andrzej Duda, who left office in August 2025, sits on Zen’s supervisory board – a role he took on to support the company’s international expansion and regulatory oversight, he told Polish outlet Puls Biznesu. Zen’s entry into the Ukrainian banking market follows a pattern set last December, when Estonian fintech group iute acquired the insolvent RwS Bank.
PINbank offers Zen a retail network of 16 ATMs, 535 self-service terminals, and branches in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Zhytomyr, and Vinnytsia region, along with domestic government bonds worth Hr.35 million ($797,000). PINbank had been majority-owned by Russian businessman Yevhen Hiner, whose 88.89% stake was seized by the state following sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council.
How Asvio will acquire Motor-Bank
Asvio Bank’s acquisition of Motor-Bank marks the lender’s third attempt to absorb the assets and liabilities of an insolvent institution.
Motor-Bank had belonged to Viacheslav Bohuslayev, a shareholder of aircraft engine manufacturer Motor-Sich, who faces treason charges and whose assets were transferred to state management in July 2024.
According to Forbes Ukraine, Motor-Bank’s balance sheet had deteriorated sharply since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion: net assets shrank from nearly Hr.2.6 billion ($59.2 million) in January 2022 to Hr.380 million ($8.7 million) by January 2026, while the loan portfolio collapsed from nearly Hr.690 million ($15.7 million) to just Hr.5 million ($113,900) over the same period.
Motor-Bank has nine branches remaining across the Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Khmelnytska regions, with two Zaporizhzhia branches damaged by Russian attacks and requiring reconstruction.