Financial institutions

After the financial crisis of 1996 and the subsequent introduction of the Currency Board, whereby the Bulgarian Lev was pegged to the Euro, the financial industry stabilized and became one of the most competitive and rapidly developing businesses in Bulgaria.

As a result of globalization processes and intensified competition over the last 5 years, a number of mergers and acquisitions by international leaders took place. Restructuring in the banking and insurance sectors is expected to continue as there are still big players who have not entered the market and local potential which has not yet been exhausted.
Leasing companies and non-bank credit institutions are in a less mature stage of development. Most of them are subsidiaries of large financial groups.

In 1997, the Bulgarian Stock Exchange was licensed, but it did not start effective operation until the early 2000s. It has been attracting a lot of investments by offering high yields. A number of successful IPOs were placed over the last 2 years, and many are still in the pipeline.
NECA's expertise in the sector spans from providing detailed market and regulatory researches to the execution of M&A transactions. NECA and its partners possess the essential industry knowledge and experience to assist in post-merger integration, restructuring, profit and cost optimization.

In 2007, NECA successfully advised EuroHold Bulgaria AD on the acquisition of the Romanian insurer Asitrans Asigurari S.A.

NECA is currently advising leading Bulgarian financial institutions on their expansion on the Balkans via acquisitions.