Bulgaria's central bank approves sale of NLB Banka Sofia to ТBIF Financial Services

The Bulgarian National Bank said on June 17 2011 that it has given an approval to Netherlands-registered ТBIF Financial Services to acquire NLB Banka Sofia, the Bulgarian subsidiary of Slovenian Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB).

ТBIF Financial Services, the retail lending division of Dutch-Israeli holding and investment company Kardan, will pay 15 million euro for the bank.

The deal, agreed in April, is part of Kardan's strategy to reinforce its investments in Bulgaria and Romania by creating synergies with its other businesses, Kardan said at the time.

Following the purchase, NLB Banka Sofia will focus on retail lending and funding small and medium enterprises.