Bulgarian banks' net profit up 23% y/y in Jan-Feb

The banking sector's net operating income came in at roughly 1.19 billion levs at the end of February, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report on the banking sector's performance. In January-February 2023, banks in Bulgaria generated a net operating income of some 984.4 million levs.

Gross interest income of banks in Bulgaria went up to 1.11 billion levs in the two months through February from 842.1 million levs in the prior-year period. At the same time, gross fee and commission income increased to 315.3 million levs from 288.2 million levs.

The banks' total assets stood at 173 billion levs at the end of February, up 0.3% month-on-month. In the first two months of 2023, total assets amounted to some 158.4 billion levs.

Gross loans and advances in the review period totalled 114.7 billion levs, climbing by 0.3% in monthly terms. The gross loan portfolio of the Bulgarian banking system totalled 99 billion levs at the end of February, compared to 87.5 billion levs a year earlier.

Compared to end-January, growth in household loans was the highest, at 1.6%, whereas loans to the general governments sector marked a 0.9% decline.

At the end of February, deposits in the banking system reached 147.1 billion levs, or 0.2% less than a month earlier.

The highest decline in deposits was posted by other financial corporations - at 9.9%, followed by credit institutions with 5.9%. Meanwhile, deposits of the general governments sector grew by 3.6%, while those of households added 0.9%, data showed.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)