On average students have consumer loans of BGN 7 thousand each;

15% of the students, customers of UniCredit Bulbank, have funds amounting to over BGN 1000 on savings or current accounts;

University teachers often look for fast payment methods and opportunities to make savings.

UniCredit Bulbank offers for the first time in Bulgaria an overdraft for a student scholarship. The idea for the creation of this product comes from the students participating in the club “My bank of the future” together with the online platform www.Kosher.bg. The overdraft for students is part of the Academic league programme which is developed in response to the specific financial needs of the academic community in Bulgaria.

“The most important resource we have is the people. As part of a leading European institution we realize the enormous importance of education for improving the standard of living of our society and we pay special attention to the actual needs and opportunities for financing students and university teachers,” said Levon Hampartzoumian, Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit Bulbank.

The average consumer loan provided to students amounts to BGN 7 thousand. These are the findings of the customer base analysis made by UniCredit Bulbank. Young people aged between 18 and 26 most often take a loan for the purchase of a laptop, tablet or because they need funds for travels related to traineeship programmes, work experience abroad for the summer or for obtaining additional qualifications. Nevertheless, only 3% of them use consume loans and this is also the share of utilized credit cards and overdraft. However, a survey shows that the percentage of students who would like to use such bank products is much higher.

At the same time 15% of the students, customers of UniCredit Bulbank, have amounts of over BGN 1000 on savings or current accounts. Insurance products or investment in Pioneer funds is not popular with young people – only less than 1% of them have made such an investment. The average amount of deposits, however, is between BGN 5 and 8 thousand. The total number of students in Bulgaria for the 2013/2014 academic year is 263 thousand and nearly 13% are customers of UniCredit Bulbank. 65% of the students work and 25% of them are permanently employed - these are the findings of a sociological survey of students of New Bulgarian University and Sofia University “Sv. Kliment Ohridski”. A survey conducted by UniCredit Bulbank of students shows that they need flexible and innovative banking solutions.

University teachers also constitute a group of customers with specific financial needs. According to UniCredit Bulbank’s analysis most often they are looking for fast payment methods when going on conferences or seminars abroad. University teachers find also attractive a variety of savings products – nearly 35% of the university teachers, customers of the bank, have deposits of over BGN 1000. The figure for people of this segment using investment products is much lower, assets varying on average between BGN 7 and 16. Around 13% of university teachers take advantage of the convenience offered by credit cards and overdraft.

Modula Programme

The programmes Modula Teacher and Modula Student have been developed to meet the individual transaction needs of both university teachers and students. These programmes combine various products and services in a package at the best conditions. One possible option students can take advantage of includes a debit card with the possibility to withdraw funds at all ATMs of other banks free-of-charge and the university and the faculty number can also be written on the card itself.

The student loan may be used for the payment of tuition fees, for travelling expenses abroad and any other current expenses. The interest rate is between 7 and 7.50%. The student loan may be utilized in tranches or by using any other individual plan arranged in advance. The repayment term of student loans is between 10 and 12 years.

The special combination of products and services for university teachers comprises a current account with a debit card with the possibility to withdraw funds at all ATMs of other banks free-of-charge, 4 utility payments per month, sms notification of withdrawal as well as an overdraft credit card with no annual servicing fee. As university teachers are a group of customers who often look for various savings options, they can take advantage of the opportunity to have a discount of up to 35% of the entry fee for investments in Pioneer Savings Plan for a period of 5 years. The savings plan gives the option of allocating small amounts every month to be invested in mutual funds according to the customer’s risk profile.

More information for clients:

UniCredit Bulbank, Call Centre

Phone: 0700 1 84 84

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Ekaterina Ancheva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 963, flbufsjob/bodifwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch