News about SFB Capital Market JSC

A conference on the access to SME loan-financing after 2007
Over the next two years, the Bulgarian banks will have to devise internal guidelines for the assessment of the credit risk exposure to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The new internal set of rules will align the operation of the local banks to the capital standards established under the so called Basel II accord. The challenges facing the Bulgarian banks were discussed Tuesday in Sofia at a conference on the access to SME loan-financing after 2007 when Basel II will take effect here. EU data shows that the banks in the member states do not request additional information from 30% of SME borrowers. Basel II will discontinue this loose approach to lending and will require the banks to prepare comprehensive profiles of the borrowers, said Christian Marlier from the European Savings Bank Group. The accord establishes more rigorous risk measurement requirements entailing that each bank assess and provision the credits on strictly case-to-case basis. The Bulgarian banks and corporate borrowers appear unfazed by the new loan supervision rules. The tough loan provision requirements took effect in Bulgaria quite a while ago, said Rumen Simeonov from the Bulgarian National Bank. At the moment, loans more than 90 overdue are required to be 100% provisioned, the official said. The Basel II accord obliges the banks to provision to the loan loss reserves between 20% and 150% of the credit depending on the risk exposure. In the run-up to 2007, the Bulgarian banks that know what is good for them will create a running file on each extended loan. That way they will be able to assess repeat borrowers without recourse to external credit rating agencies. But the banks will be pressed for time because similar risk assessment tools take between 3 and 5 years to develop. According to the Bulgarian bankers, it is important that entrepreneurs kick their habit of drawing consumer credits for working capital purposes and start applying as corporate borrowers. At the moment as much as 77% of consumer loans are extended to corporates. (19.01.2005)

10.02.2005  The Analytical module of the National Programme for the Development and Encouragement of Bee-keeping in Bulgaria was presented today in Sofia’s Inter Expo Center

08.04.2005  Annual report on the development of production and sales of liquid fuel in Bulgaria in 2004

12.04.2005  Certificate to experts of SFB Capital Market JSC for successful completion of Financial Statements Analysis

20.05.2005  Annual report on the development of the textile industry in Bulgaria in 2004.

25.05.2005  Bulgarian banks will re-negotiate the terms of the extended credits that are not repaid until 2007. This became clear during the conference for the introduction of the new capital requirements for credit institutions.

25.05.2005  BIC Capital Market Ltd. reached a partnership agreement with UK’s Zircon Business Solutions – a London-based corporate finance and investment consultancy specializing in Bulgaria

25.05.2005  SFB Capital Market JSC to hold annual general meeting of its shareholders June 30 2005

08.08.2005  Mr. Manyu Moravenov, the former head of Trade and Supervision department retired Bulgarian Stock Exchange last week.

24.11.2005  A governmental program envisages that in the forthcoming 10 years 80 million euro are invested in beekeeping.