"Expectedly, in line with the euro adoption last year we had a record growth in attracted funds, especially from individuals. For them this was the easiest and cheapest way to save themselves the effort during the busy January 2026 and to exchange their levas without additional stress.  During the first quarter of 2026 this process has been normalized, as the growth of deposits and attracted funds is not much different than those in previous years. In addition to that the cash exchange has also triggered  a surge in payments with cards, which we consider a positive effect from the euro conversion.“, shared Teodor Marinov, Chief Financial Officer of United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), part of KBC Group in Bulgaria before the participants in the Banking Today financial forum, which is being organized on an annual basis by the investor.bg financial website.

He was among the participants in the first panel of the event, held on 24 March in Inter Expo Centre Sofia. The topics, discussed by representatives of banking institutions, involved in it, were linked to the development of the banking market after the euro adoption in Bulgaria, the cyber risks and the prospects for potential consolidation in the sector.

In the opinion of Teodor Marinov, the management of the risks of cyber-attacks is part of overall risk management and UBB carefully monitors how business organizations react to those risks and how they develop their models and procedures for protection from those. His understanding is that if businesses have awareness and proactive behaviour on the topic, then it could be soundly assumed that such risk types could be managed effectively. „We seek clients with good financial performance, but also with sound risk management and ability to adapt to the changing environment.“, he emphasized.

In the discussion, linked to product development and product offering, Teodor Marinov emphasized the trend of offering subscription products for customers, linked to a certain number of packaged services, included in them. He also spoke about the development of the ecospheres of related services, which include banking and non-banking financial services, and such, linked to the banking activity, which follow customer behaviour models. An example of that at UBB is the whole range of products offered in the Bank’s mobile app - UBB Mobile - linked to the mobility topic, among which payment of vignettes, purchase of travel insurance policies, payment for parking in a paid zone, searching for e-vehicle charging stations, vehicle tax payment and others.

Regarding the evolution of the banking market UBB’s CFO has underlined that it is a highly competitive market and that customers who are able to choose and negotiate the best conditions for credit products will gain a competitive edge, as lending is the segment that provides utmost clarity as to how competitive a certain market is.

UBB is the main partner in this year’s edition of the  Banking Today event, and the full programme of the conference is available here.