Bulgarian banks' 10-mo net profit surges 75% y/y

The banking sector's net operating income came in at roughly 5.8 billion levs at the end of October, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report on the banking sector's performance. In January-October 2022, banks in Bulgaria booked a net operating income of 4.28 billion levs.

Gross interest income soared to 4.86 billion levs in the ten months through October from 2.88 billion levs in the prior-year period. At the same time, gross fee and commission income went up to 1.56 billion levs from 1.45 billion levs.

The banks' total assets amounted to 164.2 billion levs at the end of October, down 0.6% month-on-month. In the first ten months of 2022, total assets stood at 151 billion levs.

Gross loans and advances in the review period totalled 108.8 billion levs, rising by 0.7% in monthly terms. The gross loan portfolio of the Bulgarian banking system amounted to 95.4 billion levs at the end of the review period, compared to 84.6 billion levs a year earlier.

Compared to end-September, growth in household loans was the highest, at 1.4%, whereas loans to the general governments sector marked a 4.1% decline.

At the end of October, deposits in the banking system reached 140.1 billion levs, or 0.9% less than a month earlier.

The highest decline in deposits was posted by credit institutions - at 13.1%, followed by other financial corporations with 7.7%. Meanwhile, deposits of households grew by 0.7%, while those of non-financial corporations inched up 0.05%, data showed.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)