Six Bulgarian banks rank in the Top 100 of the largest financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. DSK, First Investment Bank and UBB are making significant progress in the ranking compared to last year. It is composed by RIA Rating Agency on the order of Russia’s leading financial site Prime.
The Bulgarian banks that are included in the prestigious ranking are: UniCredit Bulbank – 42nd place; DSK – 57th place, United Bulgarian Bank – 69th place, First Investment Bank – 76th place, Postbank – 88th place and the Raiffeisen branch in Bulgaria, which is 91st.
Bulgarian banks are improving their positions relative to the 2018 ranking. The biggest jump is made by UBB with a whole 27 positions up. It showed the best dynamics among the Top 100 in 2018. Its assets grew by 46% to $ 6.6 billion. About 90% of the increase in assets of this bank is explained by its merger with another Bulgarian bank – Sibank.
The study analyzed the financial performance of banks from 14 countries: Bulgaria, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic. The rating includes the largest banks of 13 Central and Eastern European countries (CEE). The minimum entry threshold is $ 4.3 billion in assets.
Among the 100 largest financial institutions in CEE, there are 28 Russian, 16 Polish, 11 Czech and 10 Hungarian. Immediately after them, are Bulgaria and Romania on the fifth place, with each of these two countries represented by 6 banks.
The largest bank in CEE in early 2019 is Russia’s Sberbank, whose assets as of January 1, 2019 amount to $ 449 billion. The second largest consolidated asset is VTB with $ 212 billion. In the top three is another Russian bank, Gazprombank, with $ 94 billion in assets.
The top ten include three Polish and one Hungarian banks. Poland’s largest bank, PKO Bank Polski, is fourth with $ 86 billion in assets. Hungarian OTP Bank, which owns DSK in Bulgaria, is ranked 8th with $ 52 billion in assets.
Comparing GDP to number of banks, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia have a well-developed financial sector.