No request has been submitted to the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) for change of statutes of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and raising the ceiling of BGN 5 million for credit exposure, said Minister of Innovation and Growth Daniel Lorer during Question Time in Parliament on Friday.
The bank will fulfill its legal mission to support small and medium-sized enterprises where commercial banks cannot. Until last year, when the bank’s board was replaced, BDB had BGN 1 billion in nonperforming loans. That is why there are huge provisions for eight loans, which are particularly large and particularly problematic, the minister said.
He was asked by a group of MPs whether, as the principal of BDB, he intends to change its statutes and raise the ceiling of BGN 5 million for credit exposure.
Towards the end of the first quarter, it is clear that BDB is not developing much, said MP Petar Chobanov. The loan portfolio is expected to shrink by BGN 350 million, as BDB’s assets, deposits and revenues will shrink, Chobanov said.
According to Minister Lorer, there are no lobbying interests in BDB, and it works only for the benefit of small and medium enterprises.
