Economics
EU Backs State Aid for Bulgarian Banks as Lender Targeted
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The European Union gave Bulgaria authority to provide 3.3 billion lev ($2.3 billion) in state aid for lenders after police there arrested men they said triggered a run on deposits of the third-largest bank.
The central bank overcame a run on deposits caused by an “organized criminal attack” against several banks, it said in a statement today. Earlier, queues formed outside some Sofia branches of First Investment Bank AD, which paid 800 million lev to clients on June 27. Bulgaria asked the European Commission to support the credit line a week after the central bank put fourth-largest Corporate Commercial Bank AD under administration after a big depositor withdrew funds.