Bulgaria’s banks initially weathered the crisis of the past few years better than many of their European counterparts. But the aftermath, characterised by low growth and high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs), is proving difficult. After several years of double-digit credit growth, lenders face a rather more modest outlook in an emerging market that has been knocked sideways by the crisis in the eurozone.
The banking sector’s assets totalled Lv82.4bn ($55bn) at the end of 2012, or just over 100% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), the country's central bank. Foreign-owned institutions account for about 70% of assets, a proportion that has declined due to Greek banks’ deleveraging. Total system deposits reached Lv57bn in 2012, growing 8.4% year on year.
