Bulgaria's Banks Record BGN 72.4M Profit in Jan 2014

As of 31 January, the profit of the banking system was BGN 72M which is BGN 10M more than a year ago, according to Bulgaria's National Bank data.

The processes and factors influencing the banking system in 2013 remained unchanged in the first month of 2014, BNB announced.

Attracted funds and total balance sheet assets continued to grow, while loans marked a drop. Part of bank resources was invested in debt instruments and in receivables from credit institutions. The growth of securities holdings and placements contributed for the observed increase in liquid assets and the preserved high level of the liquidity ratio of 27.05%.

The banking system profit of BGN 72.4M by end-January was influenced by the higher financial and operating income owing to the achieved reduction of interest costs. During the month, impairment amounted to BGN 71M compared to BGN 79M for January 2013.

The assets of the banking system were BGN 556M (0.6%) higher when compared to December 2013. Cash decreased by BGN 398M, while securities increased by BGN 705M. Investments in government securities and the debt instruments of foreign issuers held by banks grew by BGN 622M (11.2%) – and BGNM (2.1%), respectively.

Receivables from credit institutions also experienced an upward move of BGN 686M (7.1%), as a result of placements with nonresident banks.

In January, gross loans, excluding those to credit institutions, reported a decrease of BGN 335M (0.6%). This was influenced by the developments in all portfolio segments, with the loans to corporations registering the greatest decrease in absolute terms by BGN 194M (0.5%).

Loans to non-credit institutions were by BGN 88M (7.9%) less, and retail exposures decreased by BGN 38M (0.2%). The observed monthly growth of attracted funds by BGN 533M (0.7%) continued to be driven by the main sources of financing – retail and corporate deposits.

The greatest contribution continued to be from the savings of individuals and households, which increased by BGN 642M (1.6%) in January. This marked a rate of growth similar to the one in December and higher than the one a year ago. The resources from institutions other than credit ones increased by BGN 149M (0.6%), which also resulted in a higher monthly growth than January 2013.

At the same time,the downward trend of resources from credit institutions was preserved. The balance sheet capital in the system remained unchanged, and amounted to BGN 11.2B at the end of the reporting period.

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