October 12 (SeeNews) - The Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said that it has fined First Investment Bank (Fibank) [BUL:5F4] 200,000 levs ($118,500/102,300 euro) for accepting its own shares as part of collateral on a loan it has extended.
The loan has been fully repaid by October 10 and the collateral was released, the central bank said in a statement.
BNB did not provide further details.
Under Bulgaria's Law on Credit Institutions, when granting credits, a bank may not accept as collateral shares it has issued.
Fibank shares closed 3.27% lower at 3.55 levs on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on Thursday.
According to central bank data, Fibank was Bulgaria's fourth largest lender by assets at the end of August.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)
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