12.12.2015

First Investment Bank AD (Fibank) repaid BGN 775 million out of the liquidity support of BGN 1.2 billion received in June 2014, together with the due interest. As envisaged in the plan, approved by the European Commission, the remaining amount of BGN 450 million is due by the end of May 2016.

We remind that Bulgaria granted liquidity support to First Investment Bank AD in the form of a deposit of BGN 1.2 billion, as part of a liquidity scheme approved by the Commission on the same day – 29.06.2014; the interest on the deposit is market-based. Due to constraints related to the limit on new debt pursuant to the 2014 State Budget Law, this deposit had a short maturity of five months which expired on 28 November 2014. For this reason the Ministry of Finance notified before the European Commission and received approval for new State aid SA.39854 “Restructuring plan of First Investment Bank”, with the deadline for state aid repayment being until 28 May 2016.