| Type | Commercial Bank |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Key people |
Anthony Hassiotis (CEO and Chairman of the Management Board), |
| Products | Retail banking, Corporate banking, Factoring, Investment banking, Asset management, Loans |
| Revenue | €159 million (2010)[1] |
| Profit | €29 million (2010)[1] |
| Total assets | €4.13 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | €463 million (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 3,000 (FTE, end 2010)[1] |
| Parent | Eurobank EFG Group |
| Website | www.postbank.bg |
Postbank (Bulgarian: Пощенска Банка) is a leading Bulgarian retail and commercial bank with headquarters in Sofia. It is the third largest depository institution in the country with 10% market share[2], the second largest mortgage lender[3], and the largest credit card issuer. As of the end of 2010, its assets amounted to over €4.13 billion and growing, while the share capital of the bank exceeded €463 million.[1]
Postbank has one of the most extensive branch networks in the country with more than 220 active locations. As of October 2011, the bank has a long-term credit rating of BBB and a short-term rating of A-2 with a stable outlook from the Bulgarian Credit Rating Agency (BCRA). [4]
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Bulgarian Postbank was founded on April 2, 1991 as the postal savings system of Bulgarian Posts. In the years that followed, the bank experienced substantial growth and expansion. It is one of the few Bulgarian banks that managed to survive the banking crisis in Bulgaria in 1996-1997.
On November 9, 1998, 78.23% of Postbank’s capital was acquired by ALICO/CEH Balkan Holdings Ltd., a subsidiary of Eurobank EFG. In the following years, Eurobank EFG's control grew to more than 90% of Postbank’s equity capital.
On December 21, 2006, Eurobank EFG acquired majority ownership of the Bulgarian DZI Bank, which was merged into Postbank in the third quarter of 2007 with the operational merger completing by the end of the year. [5]
On August 29, 2011, Eurobank EFG and Alpha Bank announced that they have reached agreement on a merger. Alpha Bank has presence in Bulgaria since 1995 with its Sofia Branch having more than 120 offices around the country. The Alpha Bank Branch is expected to merge into Postbank operationally by the end of the second quarter of 2012.[6]
Following its merger with DZI Bank in 2007, the bank changed its legal name to "Eurobank EFG Bulgaria AD", but continued doing business as the Bulgarian Postbank. Despite the legal name change, Postbank remains an autonomous Bulgarian bank and is fully self-funded via the local and international market.[7]
In the late 1990s the bank entered into the credit card business and is currently the largest credit card issuer with approximately 35% market share. Postbank is the exclusive issuer of American Express credit cards in Bulgaria and services a majority of the high-end credit market.[8]
Postbank's major presence in Bulgaria is relatively recent. The bank had only a handful of branches in the country prior to embarking on an expansion program in mid 2000s, which resulted in a tenfold increase in the number of brick and mortar locations in less than 5 years.
Postbank is the second largest mortgage lender in Bulgaria and in mid 2000s became the fastest growing mortgage provider in that country.[3]
The shareholder structure of Postbank as of June 30, 2010 [9] is as follows:
In April 2011, Postbank introduced a tiered board structure, which included a Management Board and a Supervisory Board.[10]
In 2005, the Strong Start with Postbank (Bulgarian: Силен Старт с Пощенска Банка) program was launched as the first private non-profit initiative to support secondary education in the country. Since then every year “Strong start with Postbank” is organized under the patronage of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, Youth and Science. For the past 5 years, Postbank has awarded talented students from Bulgaria's language high schools. Since program launch, Postbank has awarded 766 students with total award funds amounting to €200 thousand. [11]
The Strong Start initiative enjoys strong support from non-profit organizations working in the youth and education sector and the sixth program iteration was organized together with the Bulgarian Donors' Forum, the Paideia Foundation, the National Network for Children and the Parents Association.
The program elements are presented in the following projects: [12]
In 2011, the project was implemented within the broader initiative of bTV Bulgaria's “Lets clean Bulgaria for a day”. The result of the joint work of bank employees and local residents was more than one ton of garbage collected.
In 2009 Postbank launched its internal program for environmental friendly conduct, named “Green start with Postbank”. The program aims to raise awareness on issues related to environment, identifies areas for ecological optimization, and proposes measures to bank management. In order to coordinate and manage environmental protection activities better, Postbank created a special unit - the Green Board. The Green Board of Postbank consists of employee volunteers who are determined to promote the cause of environmental protection within the organization.
According to the Postbank website, as of December 2011, Postbank ran the following subsidiaries:
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