According to the agency the bank has better developed enterprise risk management systems compared to its peers and it is adequately positioned as the largest bank in Bulgaria to withstand the effects from the deteriorated economic environment

The leading international rating agency Standard and Poor’s confirmed a ВВВ rating of UniCredit Bulbank. This is currently the highest possible rating because according to the rules of Standard and Poor’s the maximum achievable rating of a financial institution cannot surpass the rating of the country where it operates. Bulgaria also has a BBB/Negative/A-3 rating.

After performing an in-depth analysis, the experts from Standard and Poor’s determined a long-term BBB rating and a short-term A-3 one. The outlook remains negative because Bulgaria has the same rating, states the official report by Standard and Poor’s.

„UniCredit Bulbank is adequately positioned to withstand the current downturn due to ongoing parental support and its own development and enterprise risk management strategies, which are both more conservative and better developed than the corresponding strategies of its domestic peers”, says Standard and Poor’s report with regard to the bank's strategy to retain its leadership position on the Bulgarian market. In spite of the anticipated increased level of non-performing loans from 2.1% as at year-end 2008 to 2.7% as at-end March 2009 that it notes, the agency announces that this is significantly below the average for the banking system and the bank has lower credit risk compared to its peers on the market. In a recessionary environment the agency expects, as well as for the market as a whole, profitability to decline.

According to Standard and Poor’s, Bulgarian banks face a significantly lower risk of foreign currency lending in comparison with many other East European countries, whose currencies sharply depreciated in late 2008-early 2009. “We expect the Currency Board to remain in place until Bulgaria’s EMU accession”, says the report.

According to the rating by Standard and Poor’s, UniCredit Bulbank is clearly a strategically important subsidiary of UniCredit Group in its strategy in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2009, the Group provided €1.2 billion funding to the Bulgarian bank. Customer deposits are the primary source of funding. UniCredit Bulbank’s leading position in customer deposits (14% market share at end-March 2009) is being threatened by the more aggressive deposit strategies, carried out by other banks, specifies Standard and Poor’s report. Other important funding sources, thanks to which the bank supports its clients in the time of crisis, are the credit lines provided by big institutional partners such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and the Bulgarian Development Bank.

The capacity of UniCredit Bulbank to provide funding and liquidity is satisfactory, notes the agency and expects that despite the impaired macroeconomic environment, which affects in a negative way everyone on the market, the bank will remain fully and adequately capitalized.

About UniCredit Bulbank:

UniCredit Bulbank is the largest Bulgarian bank with assets exceeding BGN 11 billion and according to Standard and Poor’s as such it has strategic importance in the country’s banking system. The bank serves over 1.2 million customers, of which 10,000 are midsize and large corporates. On the market, the Bank ranks first in corporate and commercial banking, and in providing treasury services it is among the leading banks, which serve individuals and households. Retail banking is supported by an extensive network of over 260 branches and alternative distribution channels, including 720 mobile agents and 800 partner companies, call center and electronic banking.

About UniCredit Group:

UniCredit Group is a leading international financial institution with strong positions in 22 European countries, as well as representative offices in 27 other markets, having over 40 million customers and more than 10,200 branches, with about 174,000 employees as of 31 December 2008..

In the CEE region, UniCredit Group is managing the largest international bank network comprising over 4,000 branches in 19 countries, where about 78,000 employees serve more than 28 million customers. The banking group operates in the following CEE countries: Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Kazakhstan,Kirgizstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and the Ukraine.

For contacts and further information:

UniCredit Bulbank, PR and Corporate Identity

Victoria Blazheva, Phone No.: 02/9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, Phone No.: 02/9264 963, flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

News section at www.unicreditbulbank.bg