BNB

A number of Bulgarian towns and cities are to see demonstrations calling authorities to draft a plan which could help Corporate Commercial Bank (CorpBank or KTB).

International investors are not optimistic they will get their money from Bulgaria’s Corpbank after the troubled lender defaulted on a bond payment last week, the FT has said.

CorpBank major shareholder Tsvetan Vasilev has announced that a consortium of investors led by a state fund of the Sultanate of Oman is to present an offer how to help the bank.

Bulgaria's state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz has some 98.5% of its assets stored in Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB), data from the Economy Ministry shows.

A report cited by daily 24 chasa contains a list of companies holding over BGN 3 M in a single bank.

Only entities for which the sum accounts for more than a quarter of their assets are included.

Two major associations representing employers and the industry sector could announce the first lock-out in Bulgaria's history, a Bulgarian daily reports.

The Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG) and the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), are considering a halt of activities at the tens of thousands of enterprises they represent for an hour.

A plan to save Bulgaria's Corporate Commercial Bank is in preparation at the State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) of Oman, a fund source argues.

It is expected to be ready within three months, the website Gulf Business quoted the source as saying.

The report follows phone talks held Friday between Bulgarian Finance Minister Petar Chobanov and SGRF CEO Abdulsalam Al-Murshidi.

Former Defense Minister Boyko Noev argued 90 percent of assets held by Bulgaria's military industry are stored in Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB).

Noev, who has held the office two times (1994-1995, 1999-2001) explained in an interview with Bulgaria on Air channel that a deal among foreign-owned banks prevented them from working with the Bulgarian arms business.

Lawmakers have decided to postpone discussions on budget act amendments proposed by the government, MPs say.

The changes to the 2014 fiscal plan were due to be debated Thursday, but are not included into the agenda as the main ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) has announced it opposes them.

No session was held in Parliament on that day as MPs failed to reach quorum.

Lawmakers are due to have a first-reading say on changes to the Penal Code envisaging up to 10 years of imprisonment for spreading misleading information on banks. 

Under amendment proposals submitted by Bulgaria's central bank BNB, those disseminating information potentially leading to a surge of panic among citizens could face between two and five years behind bars.

Events at Corporate Commercial Bank, which is to be stripped of license by central bank BNB, will not affect citizens' assets, Bulgarian Finance Minister Petar Chobanov stressed.

Between BGN 1.5 and 2 B are to be spent to avert any impact of the bank's insolvency on savings, website Dnevnik.bg quoted him as saying.