January 31 (SeeNews) - The combined net profit of banks operating in Bulgaria surged by 46.8% year-on-year in 2022, reaching 2.1 billion levs ($1.17 million/1.07 million euro), the country's central bank said on Tuesday.
The banking sector's net operating income rose to almost 5.3 billion levs last year from some 4.5 billion levs in 2021, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report on the banking sector's performance.
Gross interest income of banks in Bulgaria increased by an annual 19.4% to 3.6 billion levs in the review period. Meanwhile, gross fee and commission income went up to 1.8 billion levs from 1.5 billion levs.
The gross loan portfolio of the Bulgarian banking system expanded to 86.1 billion levs in 2022 from 75.9 billion levs a year earlier. Deposits in the banking system totalled 134.1 billion levs, up from 115.4 billion at the end of 2021.
At the end of last year, total gross non-performing loans (NPLs) and advances amounted to 4.45 billion levs against 4.97 billion levs the previous year.
The banks' total assets jumped to 155.4 billion levs from 135.4 billion levs. DSK Bank became the top lender by asset size at the end of the year, followed by UniCredit Bulbank and United Bulgarian Bank.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)