Bulgarian police has beefed up security measures relating to the upcoming repayment of state-guaranteed deposits with the collapsed Corporate Commercial Bank.

Interior Minister Veselin Vuchkov told reporters on Sunday that uniformed as well as plainclothes police officers will guard the servicing banks’ branches across the country to ensure public order is maintained and crime prevented when repayment starts next week.

Vuchkov also called on depositors in Corporate Commercial Bank, or KTB as the bank is known by its Bulgarian acronym, to avoid rushing to withdraw their insured deposits of up to BGN 196,000 (EUR 100,000) in the first days or even weeks after servicing banks start the repayment.     

The Deposit Insurance Fund last week announced the names of the banks that will service the repayment of state-guaranteed deposits with KTB, starting from December 4.

They are: Allianz Bank Bulgaria, DSK Bank, United Bulgarian Bank, First Investment Bank, Raiffeisen Bank (Bulgaria), CIBANK, UniCredit Bulbank, Central Cooperative Bank and Eurobank Bulgaria (Postbank).