13.05.2022 Valentin Mihov: Our goal at BDB is to make the system work

BDB as a bank has only granted loans to 64 clients in the 2017-2020 period. Just in the first three months of 2022, the bank has provided financing to 57 micro-, small, and medium-sized companies. These are small loans that are in full compliance with the law and the bank’s mission. This was announced by Valentin Mihov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the BDB, before the members of the Committee on Budget and Finance at the National Assembly.

He presented information about the financial status of the bank and clarified that the BDB’s net interest income is stable, and personnel costs have been reduced by 39% compared to the first quarter of the previous year.

The BDB’s strategy continues to be the granting of financing to SMEs without competing with the commercial banks in the country. The bank has to take more risks than other actors on the market while lending to enterprises which are not in dire straits, said Mihov. The bank continues to undergo a major transformation that includes orienting towards its target clients, actively attracting them to work with the bank, optimization, automation and acceleration of the lending process, and the goal is to have the system for financing of SMEs through the BDB running on full speed.

BDB will reach businesses via constant direct meetings in the entire country. In recent months, BDB teams have organized dozens of meetings in various towns and cities. The new digital platform of BDB will act as a parallel channel to facilitate communications with the bank: BDB Business Booster, to be fully presented very soon. Through it, companies will be able to apply for funding fully online, without having to visit in person the office of BDB.

There are no changes to the BGN 5 million cap for company financing. “We have requested a change to the BDB’s statutes with exceptions for emergency situations to be able to protect the interests of the bank and taxpayers,” clarified Mihov. He stated that, if the analysis on which the BDB is working suggests a change to the direct exposure limit, this will be proposed in a public and transparent manner, after an open discussion.

About the participation of the BDB in First Investment Bank, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board clarified that the loss from the purchased shares amounted to BGN 78 million at the end of 2020 and an additional BGN 5 million by the end of 2021. As of 31 March 2022, the loss has been reduced by BGN 26 million.