Q2’26 net income of the Bulgarian banking system came to EUR 543.6m, up by 23.8% YoY (+EUR 104.5m), sustaining the positive trend from the previous quarters. The improvement was again driven by 24.7% YoY (+EUR 177.5m) rise of net interest income, the EUR 28m YoY growth in gains from securities and the 6% YoY (+EUR 14m) increase of net fees&commissions income. The positive effects were partly offset by the 95% YoY (-EUR 33m) drop of FX gains, the 9.2% YoY (+EUR 34m) increase in administrative expenses, and the 26.5% YoY (+EUR 32m) rise in credit provisions. For the 9 months of 2026, net income reached EUR 1.6bn, up by 12.3% YoY, with the same factors in place as the ones in Q3’26 alone. The positive contributions were the 21.3% YoY (+EUR 453.4m) growth of net interest income and the 298.3% YoY (+EUR 138.7m) surge in gains from securities, while on the negative side were the 96.9% YoY (-EUR 112.1m) decline of FX gains, the 54% YoY (+EUR 133.8m) rise of credit provisions and the 11.2% YoY (+EUR 121.2m) increase of administrative expenses. The banking system’s 12-month trailing ROE declined on YtD base to 13.6%, compared with 14.4% at end-2025. The breakdown across the 23 banks and branches operating in Bulgaria reveal that DSK Bank accounted for 27.5% of the sector’s 9m’26 profit, followed by UniCredit Bulbank with 24.2%, UBB with 13.6%, Eurobank Bulgaria with 11.2%, and Fibank with 5.3%. Total assets of the banking system added 2.8% QoQ (+15.8% YoY) to EUR 124.4bn. Quarterly growth was mainly driven by the net loan portfolio (+3.1% QoQ, +EUR 2.1bn), the 3.2% QoQ (+EUR 0.7bn) increase of investment portfolio and the 14.9% QoQ (+EUR 2bn) increase of cash in central banks. Deposits added 2.2% QoQ (+EUR 2bn). DSK Bank remained a market leader by assets with a 19.47% market share (-0.35 p.p. QoQ), followed by UBB (19.32%, -0.10 p.p. QoQ), UniCredit Bulbank (17.55%, +0.45 p.p. QoQ), Eurobank Bulgaria (11.93%, -0.13 p.p. QoQ), and Fibank (7.89%, -0.11 p.p. QoQ). Gross loans to non-credit institutions increased by 3.1% QoQ, with growth recorded across most segments. Mortgage lending posted the strongest increase (+5.3% QoQ, +EUR 1.1bn), followed by corporate loans (+2.2% QoQ, +EUR 0.7bn) and consumer loans (+4.3% YoY, +EUR 0.6bn). Asset quality remained almost unchanged, with the 90-day overdue loans ratio at 2.12%, the same as at end of Q2, while NPE ratio declined to 2.99% (2.59% of total loans and advances), compared with 3.12% (2.65% at end-Q2.