The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has negatively affected Ukraine's economic development, with GDP declining by 4.0% in 2020. Despite the fact that banking sector has ensured the stability of settlement system and has not deepened the crisis, as it was in previous years, there is a need to intensify lending activity and increase the banks' role in supporting economic processes. A number of previous crises have led to the accumulation in banks 'balance sheets of significant amounts of negatively classified assets (NPLs), which constrain banks' participation in overcoming current problems. The article considers the banks' role with state's participation in the process of intensifying credit support to the economy. One of the key areas of development is the creation of a national bank for reconstruction and development to support long-term strategic government programs by reorienting one of the existing state-owned banks for these purposes.