STRESS TESTING OF BULGARIAN BANKS BEGAN

The review of the financial stability of the banks in Bulgaria began. The so called stress testing will be carried out until July 2016. The results are expected to show which banks are the most stable and which are not so resilient.

Analysists anticipate mergers and consolidations in the market. Small businesses are concerned that because of the stress tests, the banks may tighten the lending conditions and lending may be frozen until the autumn.

The banks themselves also admit the stress test may put lending into vacuum.

They made the first steps to improve their financial accounts.

22 banks and 6 branches operate on the Bulgarian market. Their profit at the end of 2015 is 898 million BGN, which represents a 20% growth. The proceeds from fees and commissions increased by 7%. Bad or nonperforming loans are at the value of 11 million BGN.