site.btaCentral Bank Allows Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria's Acquisition by United Bulgarian Bank

On 29 June 2022 the Governing Council of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) adopted a national decision, in implementation of an instruction of the European Central Bank (ECB), by which it issued a preliminary authorization for the direct acquisition by KBC Bank NV, Belgium (owner of United Bulgarian Bank) of the shares in the capital of Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria), as a result of which Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) will become a subsidiary of KBC Bank NV in Bulgaria.

Since October 1, 2020, when close cooperation was established between the ECB and the BNB and Bulgaria joined the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the ECB has the exclusive competence to assess notifications of acquisition of qualifying holdings in credit institutions, with the relevant interaction with the BNB.