Closure of tax loopholes to affect expansion of market in short term

But the bancassurance sector in Bulgaria is expected to be kick started during 2005 as a result of two foreign banking groups (Hungary's OTP Bank and the National Bank of Greece) establishing life and non-life insurance companies.

Closure of tax loopholes to affect expansion of market in short term

Bulgaria had quite a strong life insurance tradition under communism, when the state insurer DZI had a portfolio of over two million endowments. Remarkably enough, over 800,000 of these policies were still in force in 2001.