Gold Magazine April - May 2013, Issue 25 | Page 14

ADVERTORIAL

New Investment
Opportunities
via Fibank Cyprus

First Investment Bank was established in 1993 in Sofia and holds a full
banking licence for carrying out banking operations in Bulgaria and
abroad. In 1997 Fibank opened its first foreign branch in Cyprus.

F

or more than 20
years Fibank has
made a significant
contribution
to maintaining
the stability of
the Bulgarian
banking system.
Fibank is one of the leading Bulgarian banks and its market position has
been improving, despite unfavourable
external economic factors. According
to data from the Bulgarian National
Bank, as of December 31, 2012 Fibank
ranks third in assets and second in
deposits by households and individu-

als. Moreover, the liquidity ratio of
the bank was 28.46% at the end of
2012. Fibank is a banking institution
of systemic importance for the maintenance of the stability of the Bulgarian
economy.
The stability of the Bulgarian banking system, achieved by the Bulgarian
National Bank and the banks operating
in Bulgaria, has isolated the country
to a certain extent from the negative
repercussions of the financial crisis in
other EU economies. The GDP of the
EU-27 decreased by 0.5% in Q4/2012
compared to Q3/2012. In contrast, in
Q4/2012 Bulgaria’s GDP remained

14 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

unchanged. Seasonally-adjusted data
for Q4/2012 fell by 0.6% in the EU27 compared to Q4/2011. However,
in Bulgarian it increased by 0.5% over
the same period.
The indicators of the Bulgarian
banking sector are impressive in the
context of the financial crisis in Europe: capital adequacy is 16.7% while
the statutory minimum in the EU is
8% (as set in Basel II), and the liquidity ratio is 26%, thus ensuring a solid
buffer and substantial provisions, as
well as an excellent foundation for
profitability.
Fibank considers Cyprus a powerful