(Issue No 7, February 17-23, 2017):

Fibank reports BGN 255 million profit before impairment

2016 was extremely busy both for us and for the entire banking system in connection with the asset quality review of banks, which actually served as an obstacle to banking, seeking new clients, and introduction of new products.

Still, our profit for the year reached BGN 255 million before impairment, and we managed to maintain our market position among banks in Bulgaria.

In 2016, our efforts were aimed at a reasonable balance between risk and return. Our income from banking operations increased by 10.2% to BGN 450 million, mainly as a result of growth in the net interest income which was up 22%, or BGN 307 million over 2015 (for comparison, the growth for the entire banking system was a little over 1%).

Such good results were achieved against the backdrop of the final repayment of the 2014 state support: last year we paid the remaining BGN 450 million.

Therefore, we can say that 2016 was overall a successful year for First Investment Bank. Apart from the good financial results, we achieved considerable developments in all other aspects of banking activity. We strengthened the model and structure of our corporate governance, improved the model of customer service, offered new and attractive banking products to all customer groups. These are all prerequisites for robust future growth that will give us the opportunity to achieve even higher profits and success in 2017 and the subsequent years.

In the current year and in 2018, we shall place an emphasis on our work with SMEs and individuals. I think we are already offering some of the most attractive lending terms on the market, but besides the parameters themselves, it is very important that products are easily accessible by clients. In this regard, in late 2016 we offered our customers the option of fully online lending. In just one month, 35% of the new consumer and mortgage loans were processed through the online platform. This is indicative of the future development of banks, which is associated with digitization and facilitating the access of customers to banking products.