Bulgarian arms producer Arcus has sold its 33% stake in Sofia-based Teximbank to four local companies for an undisclosed sum. Finance Consulting, a company linked with Bulgarian blue-chip industrial conglomerate Chimimport, has acquired nearly 20%. Investment trust Etrade, financially-oriented integrated Information systems developer DataMax System Holding and its subsidiary DataMax have purchased the remaining 13%. The four companies are expected to increase their combined holdings in Teximbank in the coming months because the central bank has granted them a permission to acquire a total of 40% of the bank shares.
Source: Dnevnik (07.02.2011)

As many as five Bulgarian banks accounted for two thirds of the overall profit of the country's banking system in the first nine months of 2011, Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data showed. Bulgarian banks' combined profit stood at 484.5 million leva in January-September, with UniCredit Bulbank, DSK Bank, Raiffeisenbank, Piraeus Bank and Corporate Commercial Bank accounting for 371.6 million leva of the total. A total of nine banks suffered losses in the period. The eight banks that recorded negative results in the second quarter were joined by the domestic branch of Turkey's Isbank, which started operations in the country in the summer. The remaining financial institutions to register losses in the period were Investbank (6.8 million leva), Bulgarian American Credit Bank (16.5 million leva), Regional Investment Bank (349 000 leva), NLB Banka Sofia (3.7 million leva), Ziraat Bank (227 000 leva), Emporiki Bank (5.976 million leva), Teximbank (1.4 million leva) and Alfa Bank, Sofia branch (30.4 million leva). The branch of Greece's Alpha Bank has been reporting losses for several consecutive years. Originally, the negative result was attributed to the bank's robust network expansion and consequently to its foray in the retail banking business and the effects of the financial crisis. Emporiki Bank, part of French banking group Credit Agricole, as well as NLB Banka Sofia and Regional Investment Bank, have also been reporting negative figures since their entry on the Bulgarian market. Investbank, which registered a loss for a third quarter in a row, has managed to keep the result almost unchanged compared to the previous three-month period. BACB, however, saw its net loss widen by about two million leva on 2010. Twelve banks reported a rise in earnings with some of the entities enjoying significant annual growth. MKB Unionbank and ProCredit Bank, for example, boosted their bottom lines by nearly three times to 4.9 million leva and seven million leva, respectively. The profit of Allianz Bank surged more than 10 times in January-September to 9.8 million leva compared to the year-earlier period. Societe Generale Expressbank reported an increase in net profit of almost 90 per cent to 38.6 million leva. The lower income of domestic banks, stemming from tight lending and rising costs for bad loan provisions, are the main reasons behind the low profits or losses of domestic banks. However, the number of banks to record losses has remained relatively stable in the past three years and the banking system as a whole has been profitable.
Source: Darik Radio (03.11.2011)