This is all the more remarkable as RZB has still had to cope with a persistently slack economy in Austria and the rest of Euroland this year as well as a weak equity market during the first quarter.

An award of the promotional game is Raiffeisenbank VISA Electron card with BGN 25. In addition the bank gives free Maestro domestic debit card.

It recorded BGN 11.4 million in operating profit, which is 2.24 times more than during the same period last year.

The Vice-Chairman of the Management Board of Raiffeisenbank (Bulgaria) AD Mr. Momtchil Andreev received a special statue and a charter from the Presidend of the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Georgi Parvanov at an official ceremony at Hilton Hotel Sofia.

Since early April Raiffeisenbank started offering consumer loans up to BGN 30 000 with max. term 10 years to its retail customers.

The three-year EUR 7 million bond issue carries a 6,125% annual interest with coupon payments due semi-annually. The bonds were sold primarily to institutional investors at the nominal value of EUR 1000 per unit.