Foreign banks are pulling funds from their subsidiaries in Bulgaria

Foreign banks are pulling funds from their subsidiaries in Bulgaria as lending growth in the country stalls, shows preliminary data of BIS, the central bank of central banks. The total exposure of foreign banks to Bulgaria totaled USD 2.3 B during the third qurater of last year and about half of it - USD 1 B - was withdrawn by Greek banks, according to preliminary data from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). Greek financial institutions have pulled out from Bulgaria over USD 1.8 B for half а year, reducing their funds in Bulgarian subsidiaries down to USD 14.2 B at the end of September, the daily claims, citing data from the second and third quarters of last year. With large parts of Bulgaria`s banking sector in Greek hands, the daily voices concerns that local subsidiaries can be drained of money, putting the country`s economies at risk.