In May, banks loans in Ukraine rose by 4.4% to USD 20 bn, as reported on June 1. Since the beginning of 2005, loans to the private sector increased by 13.9% or USD 2.4 bn. At the same time, private deposits with the banks grew by 3% to USD 10.6 bn, as of June 1. The increased deposits in May totaled 28.2% YTD. Deposits in January-May continued to grow, nearly reaching last year?s annual growth level of 28.5%. This would have been significantly higher were it not for a massive withdraw of cash at the end-of the, due the election crisis.