The cult to the customer is going to be decisive

Interests on loans will fall but gradually

Mr. Christov when will the interests rates fall?

The movement of the interests rates must reflect the state of the economy, the unemployment, the consumer trust. The economy should start working and this must be sensed as a lasting trend. The reduction of the interests rates on loans, which we observe from the beginning of 2011, is driven mainly by two factors: the expectations to return to the pre-crisis levels and partly to the increased consumer trust for the first months of the year.

Exportation is going to be the engine of the economic recovery, then comes and the investors' interest. In regard to the GDP I think that the government predictions are quite accurate and adequate. But the abrupt drop of the interests is not a good solution at this moment.

Does this mean that they will not return to the levels before the crisis?

They will return, but this should not happen so fast, because otherwise they would not adequately reflect the risk of the economy and the environment. The interests in Bulgaria are often compared to the West-European ones, but this is not correct. The macro indicators there are very different. The same is with the interests on deposits and look at their levels in our country.

But they have been falling during the last year. Will this tendency continue?

Yes, may be they will fall on the average of 1-2% till the end of the year.

Can a redirection of money from the banks to other investments be expected?

People do not spend money in the crisis and usually choose the deposits, which is an indicator of the security of the banking system. Besides the deposits during the past years our clients have been choosing also the gold, there is a huge demand.

The bank offers investment gold. The properties start to become attractive in terms of profitability, some of them can bring an average of 6-7% per year. A return of the interest can also be seen on the stock market. SOFIX rose significantly for the past 3-4 months. Mutual funds also revive.

What are your expectations for the property prices?

The panic fall of the prices is over. In the beginning the property market will be activated by people who have the need but have held back the purchase for 2-3 years. Afterwards will come and the speculators.

And are there going to be advantageous mortgage estates which will come from the banks?

I do not think that there will be such properties. It is absurd to think that there is going to be a drop of the prices, because of the many mortgaged estates which will appear at the market.

Soon comes the Consumer’s day and the focus this year will be on the financial services. The banks stand up for a lot of criticism.

This year and the next one the cult to the client will come in first place and the banks will start to divide in such that have a good service and all the rest.

The Law on consumer credit also helped the environment to become more competitive. The banks have unified products, they differ by the way of offering, the quality of the servicing and the service itself. 

And will the safety of the customers improve if the idea for the elimination of the fee for the prepayment of the mortgage loans is accepted?

First Investment Bank did it already. Such a decision will lead to unifying of the products, as the Law on consumers credits did. The result will be again in the quality of the service offering and the servicing.

The rise in the cost of the foods and the fuels creates an additional insecurity in the people. Do they refuse from taking credits because of that?

Any rise in the costs, rise in the taxes, increase in the inflation, which do not lead to rise in income, reduces the purchasing power. In such situation it is normal to think whether to take credit.

And are there people who give up from consumer loan in a period of 14 days after they took it, which is the option given by the law?

I have not seen such a case. At the moment people judge well their opportunities, sort out the offers at the market, have a good knowledge of the banks.

First Investment Bank is still the only bank that offers cards for contactless payment. Is there an interest in them?

These cards are a hit at the moment, not only that they supply a new for our country service, but they are with the highest level of security, shopping with them is fast, easy and safe.

The other novelty is the identification of our clients with debit or credit cards with chip. The card is put in a PIN pad device which automatically recognizes your identity. This makes the service of the clients easier and faster, saves time, gives an additional level of security.

First Investment Bank continues its policy of improvement of the customers` service, introduction of new technologies before the others at the market. As we know from the advertisements, First Investment Bank is the friendly face of the mortgage loan and our policy for all the other products for personal banking is the same.