• The Bank reports over 21% growth of the assets for the previous year, getting ahead of the market

The whole profit of the biggest bank in Bulgaria – UniCredit Bulbank, amounting to BGN 292 million to be reinvested decided the shareholders on the Annual General Meeting of the shareholders for acceptance of the financial results for 2008. Thus UniCredit Bulbank creates conditions for additional enhancing its support for the Bulgarian companies, citizens and households in the course of as difficult as expected for the economy of our country 2009.

In spite of the global economic crisis, which have already started to reflect to Bulgaria, during the last quarter of 2008 the net profit of the Bank, as a result of its increased business, has increased with over 14% in comparison with 2007. The Bank will paid-in to the state budget taxes in value approximately BGN 33 million.

During the previous 2008 UniCredit Bulbank was the indisputable number one on the market by its major financial parameters as assets, incomes, equity and profitability, with leading positions in the corporate and investment banking, the private banking, retail banking, small and mid sized businesses banking.

In 2008 UniCredit Bulbank has become the first bank in Bulgaria, which assets came over BGN 11 billion. The achieved rise of this parameter from 21.5% for 2007 came over the reported by the BNB value of 17.7% for the bank sector.

The trend of significant grow of the business volume has been preserved during the previous year, as well and UniCredit Bulbank is still a lending leader. The share of the net loans in all assets has grown to 66% from 57% for 2007 and has reached BGN 7.23 billion. This is total annual growth of about 39%, with which the Bank exceeds the parameters for the market. As per the data provided by the BNB, the loan portfolio for the bank system for 2008 has grown with 31.2 % for the corporate segment and with 33.8% for the retail banking exposures. Despite of the increased loan portfolio, the traditional policy of the prudent risk management of UniCredit Bulbank has led to reducing the non-performing loans to 2.7% of the portfolio against 3.3% for the bank system.

A noticeable trend of the deposits during 2008, which has been preserved during the first months of this year, as well, is that the Customers carry on with transferring cash from the current accounts to the time deposits, attracted by the higher profitability. Extremely popular among the Customers are Nine Weeks and a Half Deposit with annual profitability of up to 7.5% for 66 days, Rocada Deposit, which allows an advance payment of the annual interest rate of ……% to be effected and Increasing Interest Rate Deposit with profitability of up to 12% at the end of the annual period. The time deposits have reached BGN 2.9 billion, which is growth of 7.8% and have increased their share up to 51% of the total deposits, compared to 42% at the end of 2007. The total amount of the deposits of customers for 2008 exceeds BGN 6 billion.

During the previous year UniCredit Bulbank was again the bank with the greatest amount of the equity in Bulgaria, which has increased by over 18% to reach the value of nearly BGN 1.4 billion. In this way the Bank overfulfills all the requirements of the BNB for the capital adequacy under Ordinance 8.

UniCredit Bulbank gets ahead of the market results by the major parameters for profitability and effectiveness. The return on the assets for the previous year is 2.9 %, and the return on the equity has reached 23%. The cost/income ratio for the previous year is 42.4 % - above the average for the market, regardless of the turmoils in the financial markets during the last quarter of 2008.

 

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Additional media information:

UniCredit Bulbank, Public Relations and Corporate Communications

Victoria Blajeva, tel +359 (0) 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, tel +359 894 518 193 , flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch