Bulgarian banks expect profits despite harsh conditions
The combined profit of the Bulgarian banking sector added up to BGN 701 million for the eleven months ending in November, down 46.8% year-on-year, showed the latest central bank data.
On a monthly basis, however, lenders pulled off a fragile 6.8% increase.
The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) expects the full-year figure will be half the BGN 1.388 billion booked for 2008.
The decline is attributed to the bigger white-off costs, ballooning loan defaults and high deposit interest rates, which rocketed to the highest since the 1996-1997 banking crisis.
But the BNB assured the buffers accumulated by banks are enough to cushion against growing costs. So far, banks have amassed BGN 3 billion, which should surpass BGN 3.5 billion once they have capitalise their 2009 profits. For a second year in a row, all Bulgarian banks will pass dividend payouts.
The banking sector’s share capital rose to BGN 9.3 billion, up 21% on the year and 0.6% on the month.
The assets surged by 1.3% for the twelve months to BGN 69.7 billion.
Loans to businesses and households gained 4.4% to BGN 51.3 billion, while the deposit portfolio stood at BGN 42.9 billion, up 6.1% year-on-year.
The combined profit of the Bulgarian banking sector added up to BGN 701 million for the eleven months ending in November, down 46.8% year-on-year, showed the latest central bank data.
