Bulgarian banks' Q1 net profit grows 4.3% y/y

The banking sector's net operating income came in at roughly 1.86 billion levs at the end of March, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report on the banking sector's performance. In January-March 2023, banks in Bulgaria booked a net operating income of 1.66 billion levs.

Net interest income jumped by an annual 27.3% to 1.4 billion levs, while net fee and commission income added 5.1% to 373 million levs.

The banks' total assets amounted to 176.3 billion levs at the end of March, up 2.5% quarter-on-quarter. In the first three months of 2023, total assets stood at 160.6 billion levs.

Gross loans and advances in the review period totalled 114.1 billion levs, rising by 7.3% in quarterly terms. The gross loan portfolio of the Bulgarian banking system amounted to 100.1 billion levs at the end of the review period, marking a 2.8% increase from end-2023.

Compared to end-December, growth in household loans was the highest, at 4.5%, whereas loans to the general governments sector dropped by 19.2%.

At the end of March, deposits in the banking system reached 150 billion levs, or 1.8% more than at the end of December.

The highest rise in deposits was posted by the general governments sector - at 11%, followed by credit institutions with 10.5%. Meanwhile, deposits of non-financial corporations declined by 1.4%, data showed.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)