United Bulgarian Bank issued the following announcement on July 4. 

United Bulgarian Bank, part of the Belgian KBC Group, is the winner of the Bank of the Year Award, awarded by the Bank of the Year Association, at the official ceremony on July 3, 2019 in Sofia. Besides great recognition, the financial institution was also awarded in the category "Dynamics of Development". Organizer Bank of the Year Association distributed its annual bank awards for the 27th time. The ceremony gathered leading bankers, financiers, representatives of the business and the media. The prizes were accepted by Petar Andronov, Country Manager of KBC Group for Bulgaria and UBB Chief Executive Officer.

"This award is a recognition of UBB's development and market success in the year that successfully integrated UBB and CIBANK into the new United Bank. I would like to thank for the high professionalism of all our colleagues in UBB, with whom we have achieved the highest results among the banks on the market namely in the year of dynamic changes for us. I am glad that our tireless work and endless will for success are rewarded, " Mr. Andronov said. He turned to the jury and the organizers of the competition with gratitude for the high rating and highlighted some of the key accents in the banking sector such as consolidation and strict monitoring by European financial institutions.

The assessment criteria in the Annual Banking of the Year contest are based on the indicators in the annual accounts of banks and clearly reflect the development of the banking sector. The Grand Bank of the Year award is another recognition of UBB's strategic development after its acquisition by the Belgian financial group KBC. In 2017 UBB's credit rating was upgraded by the international rating agency Fitch to the highest level for a financial institution in Bulgaria 'A-'. Over the past half year UBB has become the most awarded bank in Bulgaria. In January, UBB Chief Executive Petar Andronov received the Burov prize for bank management from the Atanas Burov Foundation, and only a month earlier he was named "Banker of the Year". At the beginning of the year at a ceremony in London, UBB was announced by the international magazine Global Finance for "Best Commercial Finance Bank" in Bulgaria. There were dozens of awards for an innovative product of the year, an employer brand and communications.

Original source can be found here.