Central bank approves acquisition of EIBank by KBC

The central bank has allowed Belgium ’s KBC to acquire the majority stake in the country’s 9 th largest Economic and Investment Bank (EIBank). The decision does not include permission for taking over the full stake. As recalled, KBC acquired 75% of EIBank for EUR 295mn at the end of September. A week later, the Belgians announced plans to buy out the shares traded on the local bourse. The free float of EIBank is calculated at about 2.7% at present. EIBank reported a total asset value of BGN 1.58bn (EUR 807.8mn) as of the end of September and a net profit of BGN 30mn for last year.