November 30 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's First Investment Bank [BUL:5F4] said that its consolidated net profit after minorities rose by an annual 6% to 67.6 million levs ($39.3 million/34.6 million euro) in the first nine months of the year thanks to tax returns.
The group's pre-tax profit fell by 9.6% to 64.5 million levs, the bank said in an interim financial statement on Thursday. However, it received 3.3 million levs in tax returns, while it paid 7.4 million levs in taxes in the corresponding period of 2017.
Fibank’s revenue from banking operations decreased by 2.9% to 291.6 million levs. Net interest income increased slightly by 1.7% to 201.1 million levs, while net fee and commission income dropped by 6.8% to 71.2 million levs.
The bank's assets stood at 9.6 billion levs, 7.3% higher compared with the end-2017 figure, while its liabilities rose by 8.6% to 8.7 billion levs.
In August, Bulgaria’s central bank fined Fibank 200,000 levs for accepting its own shares as part of collateral on a loan it has extended. The lender failed to disclose this information in its financial report.
The lender’s capital ratios were above regulatory requirements, with its core common equity tier 1 (CET 1) capital ratio at 13.29%.
Fibank is among the six Bulgarian banks to undergo comprehensive assestment by the European Central Bank (ECB), as part of the country's aim to join the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) - the eurozone's waiting room, and the EU's Banking Union, the ECB said earlier this month.
As at 10:50 CET on Friday, Fibank's shares were trading flat at 3.50 levs on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)
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