Pari Banking Awards Winners Announced

Maria Rousseva, board member, SG Express Bank

When Bulgaria's business daily Pari was established in 1991, it was among the first privately held newspapers in the country. With a target audience of banks and financial institutions, private companies and government, the paper has a national audience. And since 1997, it has also given out one of the country's most prestigious prizes for banks, the Pari Banking Awards. Last night the award ceremony was held for the 14th time, with banks winning three categories:  retail banking, corporate banking and a special prize - the Bank of 2010.

"The special prize is given according to the current economic situation," says Ivan Bedrov, deputy editor of Pari. "We distinguished the most successful bank both for its shareholders and for society. This year we decided to award the bank that managed to keep financing the corporate sector during the recession."

The winners this year were DSK bank (OTP Group) for Bank of 2010; SG Express Bank (Societe Generale) for Best Corporate Bank of 2010; and UniCredit Bulbank (UniCredit Group) for Best Retail Bank of 2010.

"We partnered with private equity company Oriens and together we came up with the methodology for the banking awards," says Bedrov. "The ranking is based on quantitative and qualitative indicators. Then we invited important representatives from Bulgarian business to take part in the jury and make the final ranking."

The award ceremony was attended by the governor of Bulgaria's Central Bank and the CEOs of the biggest commercial banks in Bulgaria, as well as CEOs of other successful companies. The event received wide media coverage, Bedrov says. "It's a real benefit for the banks to receive some independent recognition," says Bedrov. "For us, it strengthens our image as an independent and respected business newspaper."