WHAT’S NOT YOURS TO BEGIN
New loans extended by Bulgarian banks in July totalled 1.34 billion leva, nearly half a billion less than a month earlier, Bulgarian National Bank data showed. July is the first month, since March 2008 in which new loans dropped by 130 million leva, to record as big a decline in lending volumes. Financial analysts have said that it is too early to say if the decline will become a trend. In July, businesses took out 858 million leva in new loans, down from 1.3 billion leva a month earlier. New household loans increased to 587 million leva from 454 million in June. The combined household and corporate loan portfolio topped 45.9 billion leva at the end of July.

MARK MY CREDIT
Fitch credit rating agency affirmed the long-term foreign and local currency issuer default rating of ProCredit Bank at BB+ with stable outlook, the bank said. The short-term issuer default rating has been also confirmed at B with stable outlook. ProCredit Bank has 72 branches in the country as of end-June. The credit portfolio of the bank stood at 1.12 billion leva and the number of borrowers reached 59 000.

CHIC INVESTMENT
UniCredit Bulbank will finance the construction of a 17-storey business complex in Sofia worth more than 30 million euro, SeeNews wire agency said. The project, called Vertigo Building, is designed to cover an area of 14 000 sq m and should be ready by early 2011, the bank said in a statement. The office complex will be developed by Italy’s Casa Chic.

WORLDWIDE
Postbank has launched special purpose mutual funds with return pegged to a number of international stock market indices, Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily said. The euro Special Purpose Fund Shares and the US dollar Special Purpose Fund track the performance of DJ Eurostoxx 50, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225. They bear a guaranteed interest rate of, respectively, eight per cent and six per cent if none of the indices loses more than 40 per cent from its value on strike date. Otherwise the investor pays the difference with the interest.

REVENUES UP
A growth of 9.4 million leva in interest revenue was reported by Corporate Trade Bank at the end of July from 51.8 million leva in June. The bank’s profit increased by three million leva to 23.4 million leva. The expected profit for 2008 is 40 million leva.