A Bulgarian government official has dismissed the notion that the country is next in line to receive a bail-out from overseas.

Finance minister Plamen Oresharski said it is highly unlikely that the eastern European nation will need help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He stated that this is because its current circumstances are very different to those in countries which did get a cash injection from the IMF, such as the Ukraine and Hungary.

"We are not in a similar position," Mr Oresharski told the Financial Times.

"Our banking system looks sound, with a good level of liquidity and healthy reserves."

Mr Oresharski added that while ongoing concerns about the economic outlook still exist, the government is expecting "comparatively strong" growth in 2009.

Earlier this week, figures cited by the Sofia Echo, two-thirds of banks in Bulgaria saw their profit margins go up over the first nine months of this year.