May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's central bank said on Monday it issued a preliminary approval for the direct acquisition of 99.91% of United Bulgarian Bank by Belgium's KBC Bank.
"The preliminary approval was issued under the terms of the commitments undertaken by KBC Bank to ensure the stable and reliable development of United Bulgarian Bank," the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a statement.
The BNB approval moves the deal a step further to completion, after the Bulgarian competition authority announced its approval for the acquisition last month.
In December, KBC Group said it had entered into a definitive agreement with National Bank of Greece (NBG) for the acquisition of NBG's 99.91% stake in UBB and its 100% stake in Interlease for a total consideration of 610 million euro ($667 million).
UBB was Bulgaria's fourth largest lender by assets as of end-March, according to BNB data.
Bulgarian media reported in January that KBC Group plans to combine the assets of UBB and Sofia-based CIBank, which it already owns, to create the third largest bank in Bulgaria.
($=0.8899 euro)