* Sees assets, liabilities rising 10-15 percent in 2009
* Says needs no recapitalisation
* Says only a fifth of loan portfolio in foreign currency
* Sees no problem paying back syndicated loan in September By Natalya Zinets
KIEV, March 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine's Bank Khreshchatyk, ranked 34th in the country, hopes to increase it assets and liabilities by 10 percent to 15 percent this year, its Chairman, Dmytro Grydzhuk, told Reuters on Monday.
Analysts and investors are concerned about Ukraine's more than 180 banks, destabilised after the hryvnia currency plunged in value last year and as an economic recession sets in. Many banks have forecast falling assets and recapitalised.
Grydzhuk said he believed business would pick up by the end of the year and the bank would be able to claw back the assets it lost throughout last year.
"We plan to raise assets and liabilities by 10-15 percent at least in comparison to the end of (last) year," he said in an interview.
"Without doubt, during the course of the year there will be a wave of business activity and it is precisely at this time that we plan to increase our own resource base," he said.
"During a crisis one can choose good credit projects. There will be a good choice."
Khreshchatyk's assets fell to 5.2 billion hryvnias ($675 million) at Jan. 1, 2009, down about 11 percent from the year earlier period's 5.9 billion, central bank data showed.
Khreshchatyk is one of the 38 largest banks, which together hold 85 percent of the sector's assets.
Almost 60 percent of all loans were issued in foreign currencies at Jan. 1, 2009, and are now far more expensive to service after the hryvnia's drop. Grydzhuk said in his bank such loans constituted only a fifth of its lending.
He said the bank did not need to increase its capital -- as other banks had done after a central bank study of the sector's viability. The central bank stipulates that the capital to assets ratio must be 10 percent or higher.
"Our capital to assets ratio is higher than 15 percent. According to our diagnostics, it would be 10 percent at the worst case scenario," Grydzhuk said.
He said the bank would have no problems paying back a $21 million syndicated loan due in September. He said he expected operating profit to rise this year and was considering expanding its country-wide network of 160 branches. (Writing by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Andrew Macdonald)