Banking system profits decrease by over 20% to BGN 617 mln The profits of the domestic banking system decreased by over 20% last year, according to the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). Financial institutions in the country ended 2010 with an unaudited profit of BGN 617 mln, or BGN 163 mln down from 2009. According to BNB experts, although lower than the previous year, this is a sort of additional capital protection. Data showed that in a year, depreciation expenditures rose by 26% to BGN 1.31 bn but, nevertheless, revenues from main activities covered the increased risk and costs. At the end of December, non-performing loans overdue for more than 90 days reached 11.9% of the total volume of credits, almost double the level from a year earlier when their share was 6.42%, according to BNB statistics. According to financial institutions’ reports presented by BNB, only two banks in our country ended 2010 with profits exceeding BGN 100 mln – UniCredit Bulbank and DSK Bank, with BGN 158.7 mln and BGN 130.58 mln, respectively. In 2008, three banks reported profits of more than BGN 200 mln, and in 2009, three financial institutions had profits exceeding BGN 100 mln. An interesting shift was observed in the following positions, Corporate Commercial Bank displacing United Bulgarian Bank (UBB) from the third place and achieving a 23% profit growth to BGN 74.4 mln. Let us remind our readers that this financial institution ranked 8th in terms of profits in 2008 and climbed to the 4th position in 2009. Meanwhile, the profit of UBB shrank by 26.5% to BGN 73.6 mln.
Source: Class (01.02.2011)

Dutch-Israeli holding and investment company Kardan said on Tuesday it had agreed to acquire NLB Banka Sofia, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Slovenian Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), for EUR 15 million. Under an agreement signed the previous day, Kardan will take over the bank through its retail lending division TBIF Financial Services. The transaction is part of the company's strategy to strengthen its investments in Bulgaria and Romania by creating synergies with its other businesses, Kardan said. After the acquisition, NLB Banka Sofia will focus on retail lending and funding small and medium enterprises. NLB Banka Sofia ranks 23rd among Bulgarian banks in terms of assets, which came in at BGN 197.7 million as at end-2010.
Source: Dnevnik (06.04.2011)

As many as five Bulgarian banks accounted for two thirds of the overall profit of the country's banking system in the first nine months of 2011, Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data showed. Bulgarian banks' combined profit stood at 484.5 million leva in January-September, with UniCredit Bulbank, DSK Bank, Raiffeisenbank, Piraeus Bank and Corporate Commercial Bank accounting for 371.6 million leva of the total. A total of nine banks suffered losses in the period. The eight banks that recorded negative results in the second quarter were joined by the domestic branch of Turkey's Isbank, which started operations in the country in the summer. The remaining financial institutions to register losses in the period were Investbank (6.8 million leva), Bulgarian American Credit Bank (16.5 million leva), Regional Investment Bank (349 000 leva), NLB Banka Sofia (3.7 million leva), Ziraat Bank (227 000 leva), Emporiki Bank (5.976 million leva), Teximbank (1.4 million leva) and Alfa Bank, Sofia branch (30.4 million leva). The branch of Greece's Alpha Bank has been reporting losses for several consecutive years. Originally, the negative result was attributed to the bank's robust network expansion and consequently to its foray in the retail banking business and the effects of the financial crisis. Emporiki Bank, part of French banking group Credit Agricole, as well as NLB Banka Sofia and Regional Investment Bank, have also been reporting negative figures since their entry on the Bulgarian market. Investbank, which registered a loss for a third quarter in a row, has managed to keep the result almost unchanged compared to the previous three-month period. BACB, however, saw its net loss widen by about two million leva on 2010. Twelve banks reported a rise in earnings with some of the entities enjoying significant annual growth. MKB Unionbank and ProCredit Bank, for example, boosted their bottom lines by nearly three times to 4.9 million leva and seven million leva, respectively. The profit of Allianz Bank surged more than 10 times in January-September to 9.8 million leva compared to the year-earlier period. Societe Generale Expressbank reported an increase in net profit of almost 90 per cent to 38.6 million leva. The lower income of domestic banks, stemming from tight lending and rising costs for bad loan provisions, are the main reasons behind the low profits or losses of domestic banks. However, the number of banks to record losses has remained relatively stable in the past three years and the banking system as a whole has been profitable.
Source: Darik Radio (03.11.2011)