Today the bank held its annual general shareholders' meeting

UniCredit Bulbank is going to distribute half of its profit for 2015 amounting to slightly over 290 million lev to its shareholders. It means that for dividends the bank will set aside around 145 million lev or 0.5 lev per share. The other half of the bank's profit will be retained and reinvested in new projects.

The decision for profit distribution was adopted at today's annual general shareholders' meeting of the bank.

At the meeting the shareholders adopted and approved UniCredit Bulbank's financial results for the past year.

In 2015 UniCredit Bulbank expanded and affirmed its position as a leading bank on the Bulgarian market, ranked at top positions with regard to almost all market indicators. Its market share growth is the highest among all banks in the country, of 255 basis points to 19.5 %. The bank's total assets amount to 17.4 billion lev at the end of 2015, which is a growth of 17%.

The bank is a leader in lending with a market share of 17.9 %, whereas the growth in deposits of customers is of 25% p.a. The improved quality of the credit portfolio and the recovery of some big exposures led to an annual reduction of 30.9 % in the costs for losses on credit exposures. Thus the bank's net profit increased by 20% p.a. to 290 million lev, said the MB Chairman and CEO of UniCredit Bulbank Mr. Levon Hampartzoumian in a letter to the bank's shareholders.

The main pillars in the strategy of UniCredit Bulbank are innovation and digitalization of the services offered to customers, Hampartzoumian emphasized. The bank offers its customers a fully modernized service model which includes an online financial advisor, as well as a unique experience in the Branch of the Future network. The innovative and award-winning International Center offers "360-degree" services to international companies in Bulgaria. Among the bank's major achievements in digitalization for last year are also the introduction of the web-based “eFactoring.bg” platform, which is the first of its kind in our market, and the implementation of digital services in trade finance. UniCredit Bulbank is also the first bank in Bulgaria with a private cloud for IT infrastructure.

The bank has been distinguished through a number of international awards: Consumers' Best Digital Bank Award of Global Finance, Bank of Innovations in Bulgaria in the E-volution awards for digital business of Forbes, Best Bank in Bulgaria for 2015, and others.

More information for media:

UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

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

Beatris Nikolova, Phone: +359 2 9232 528, cfbusjt/ojlpmpwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch