June 30 (SeeNews) - The combined net profit of banks operating in Bulgaria increased to 773 million levs ($411.6 million/395.2 million euro) in the January-May period from some 622 million levs in the first five months of 2021, the country's central bank said on Thursday.
The banking sector's total net operating income for the first five months of the current year increased to over 2.1 billion levs from 1.81 billion levs in the corresponding prior-year period, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report on the performance of local banks.
Bulgarian banks' gross interest income went up to 1.35 billion levs in the review period from 1.24 billion levs in the first five months of 2021, while gross fee and commission income grew to 685.3 million levs from 558.5 million levs.
The banks' total assets amounted to 141.3 billion levs at the end of May, compared to 128.4 billion levs a year earlier. On a monthly comparison basis, assets inched up 0.2% last month.
Gross loans and advances at the end of May totalled 90.3 billion levs, on the back of a drop in claims on credit institutions, which amounted to 10.5 billion levs.
The gross loan portfolio of the Bulgarian banking system stood at 79.9 billion levs at the end of the review period.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)