October 3 (SeeNews) - The aggregate eight-month net profit of banks operating in Bulgaria amounted to 1.385 billion levs ($695.1 million/710.7 million euro), up by an annual 56%, the central bank said.
The banking sector's combined net operating income in the eight months through August amounted to 3.42 billion levs, up from 2.9 billion levs in the like period a year earlier, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report on Friday.
Gross interest income went up to 2.23 billion levs in the January-August period from some 2 billion levs in the like period of 2021. Gross fee and commission income in the review period expanded to 1.16 billion levs from 948.6 million levs a year earlier.
The banks' total assets stood at 146.5 billion levs at the end of August, up by an annual 11%.
The gross loan portfolio of the Bulgarian banking system expanded by an annual 14.6% to 83.3 billion levs in the eight months through August.
As of end-August, deposits in the banking system totalled 125.7 billion, compared to 112.5 billion a year earlier.
UniCredit Bulbank remained Bulgaria's largest lender by assets at the end of August, followed by DSK Bank and United Bulgarian Bank (UBB).
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)