Belgium's KBC Bulgarian Unit EIBank To Change Name to CIBANK

The proposed change will be put to the vote at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting scheduled for November 18, the bank said in a statement to the Sofia Stock Exchange where it is listed.

For the first half of 2008 the bank reported a fall in its net profit by 7.7% on the year to 15.597 million levs ($11.5 million/7.9 million euro).

Belgian banking and insurance group KBC bought 75% of EIBank for 295 million euro ($407.5 million) last year. KBC owned 77.75% of the bank as of the end of June, according to the latest data available. The bank's former majority shareholder, Bulgarian businesswoman Tsvetelina Borislavova, owns 22.25% of EIBank.

EIBank is the ninth largest lender by assets in Bulgaria, where 24 locally-registered banks and six branches of foreign banks operate.

Shares in the bank were last traded on June 20 at 110.34 levs, unchanged from previous close on May 22.

(1 euro=1.95583 Bulgarian levs)