CREDIT GROWTH ONGOING
Bulgarian banks continued to boost loan portfolios, though at a slower pace, according to a survey of Bulgarian banks by the Bulgarian Finance Ministry’s Agency for Economic Analysis and Forecasts.

BNB PROFIT LEAPS
The Bulgarian National Bank’s (BNB) net profit in 2007 surged 2.5-fold on the year to 693.88 million leva, according to the annual report of the central bank, available at www.bnb.bg. In 2006, its net earnings were 264.31 million leva. Under the BNB Act, 250.63 million leva went to the national budget, 239 million leva to the special reserves and the remaining 204.23 million leva to reserves and minority shares.

PENSION FUNDS TRENDS
Pension funds are increasingly backtracking on bourse investments and are re-directing funds to bank deposits, the 2007 consolidated report of the Commission for Financial Supervision said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily. The trend is true for universal and voluntary pension funds alike.
As of December 31 2007, the exposure of pension funds to equity and stakes in collective investment schemes totalled 664 million leva, a decrease from 700 million leva as of the end of September the same year.