For the past five years the share of companies using factoring from the sectors of production and services grew respectively by 28% and 18%;

Companies are more and more active in seeking products with credit cover and not just financing;

In 2013 the company started financing receivables of up to 90% of their nominal value with deferred payment of up to 180 days.

The turnover of UniCredit Factoring grew by 50% in one year and by the end of 2012 reached slightly over BGN 1 billion. For the past 5 years, the factoring* volume of the company increased on average by 32% a year. For comparison, the factoring market on a global scale in the past year marked a growth of about 6% to slightly over EUR 2 trillion.

Levon Hampartzoumian, CEO UniCredit Bulbank said: “Factoring is a service for well-functioning companies which supports their sustainable development even in the challenging economic environment“.

Michele Amadei, head of Corporate, Investment and Private Banking Division of the Bank pointed out that the factoring market in Bulgaria is about 2% of the country’s GDP, whereas in the developed markets this indicator is about 10%.

“The results in Bulgaria clearly show the big potential in our country for development of this kind of financial services, as well as the growing interest of companies from different sectors of the economy to manage their receivables in a better and more effective way”, commented Asya Baeva, executive director of UniCredit Factoring.

For the past five years the share of companies from the sectors of production and services which use factoring grew respectively by 28% and 18%. In the past year there was a growing use of factoring by pharmaceutical, chemical and metal processing companies.

The expectations for this year are that the small and medium-sized enterprises will become more active in the use of factoring services. According to Asya Baeva there will be an increase in the share of pharmaceutical, agricultural and chemical companies and companies in the sectors of electronics and infrastructure, which turn to the services of factoring companies.

Based on the volatile external environment, in 2013 the forecasts are that the factoring market will grow in more moderate rates, which will preserve the average annual growth of the past five years. If the external environment improves, we expect even higher growth rates in the second half of the year.

“This year we expect a growth in the number of companies which use services including credit cover – up to 34% of our portfolio compared to 18% in 2012”, Mrs. Baeva added.

The factoring products which include credit cover (factoring without recourse and export factoring) enable the companies using them to provide longer terms of deferred payment. This is a way to cover the risk of unexpected losses of the clients of the respective company, and at the same time there is an opportunity for receiving of working capital without need for collateral.

In 2013, UniCredit Factoring started offering financing of receivables of up to 90% of their nominal value, and working with deferred payment terms of up to 180 days.

*The factoring service in the way we see it today started its development in the early 20th century in the USA. It includes at least two of the following four characteristics: financing of the supplier, management of receivables, collection of receivables, and protection against non-payment by debtors.

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