07.12.2023 Ivan Сerovski, BDB: If our customers fail, it means we haven't done our job

On the eve of the bankers' holiday, we remind ourselves of the rule that this is the profession that manages not just money, but trust, and look back to see if we have done well. We are delighted to say that our efforts this year have been impactful:

- By the end of October 2023, the BDB has disbursed BGN 108 million in loans.

- The profit for the 10-month period is about BGN 35 million.

- We have one of the best cost-to-income ratios for the banking system at 34.5%.

More about the bank and banking from the interview of Victoria Bochevska from 24 Hours with Ivan Сerovski:

 “After a lot of debate about the role of the BDB, has the bank managed to become an institution that supports small and medium-sized businesses, Mr Tserovski?”

“Yes, indeed, that is our goal - not only of the Bank's management, but also of the government. By the end of October 2023, 108 million levs of new loans have been disbursed to small and medium-sized enterprises alone, and these have been our focus since last year. This is a record amount for the bank. We also have many new programs and products that are aimed entirely at these businesses. We also assist them in applying for European programmes and utilizing European funds.

“What are the BDB's results for this year?”

“Our profit for the 10-month period is around BGN 35 million. We have one of the best cost-to-income ratios for the banking system at 34.5%. This shows that we are making good use of the assets and resources at our disposal and generating as much revenue as possible for the country.”

“What is your vision of the bank in the near future?”

“The bank will continue to support mainly small and medium-sized enterprises. Cooperation with international financial institutions is an important priority in our work. This year we signed two contracts with the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank for 700 million levs. This is a serious recognition for the BBR. We also became an implementing partner of the European Commission and received a guarantee under the InvestEU programme, which is worth 125 million leva. I can say with confidence that 2023 is the year that brings cooperation with international institutions to a new level.”

“You have 18 years of banking experience. What is the most important thing you learned?”

“First and foremost, it is trust - both ours towards customers and theirs towards banking institutions. Because the loan is not actually paid by the company, but by the person behind it. This is invariably followed by professionalism. Bankers not only need to be good at finance and forecasting, we must also be creative and adaptable. The world is changing dynamically, and the needs of consumers and our approach follow.”

“Bankers have a professional holiday on December 6th. Are they managing our money well?”

“Bankers are facing major challenges because of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and tensions in the Middle East. These events have an impact not only on international markets, but also on the local level. This makes the banks' job much more difficult. There is increased risk of customers not being able to pay their loans, businesses entering a new crisis, inflation rising. I hope that both we and our colleagues take these challenges seriously, because if our clients fail, it means that we have not done our job well.”

“If you had to finish the sentence ‘a banker should be...’, what would you say?”

“Indomitable! Because a banker has to bring security to everyone - both to the clients and to the shareholders who have entrusted them to manage their capital. This has been the case since the inception of our profession, when bankers were the custodians of the gold and assets of wealthy merchants. And today it is still valid.”