Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgarian National Bank to restrict mortgage loans as of 2021

Bulgarian National Bank
Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR

The Bulgarian National Bank has taken a decision to restrict mortgage lending. The Board of Directors has decided to increase the capital buffer for banks' risk loans from 0.5% to 1% from 2021. The measure aims to ensure that vaults have sufficient reserves to cover losses on non-performing loans. As a rule, the buffer is increased when it is necessary to "cool" a large increase in credit. 

For the first 7 months of the year, new loans in the country increased by over 7% compared to 2020, and housing mortgages by over 15%. 
The BNB believes that this is dangerous as the concerns are about the accumulation of risks, which may appear in the increase in the volume of non-performing housing loans in the future.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria, Bulgarians and the stir in the world of cryptocurrencies

A few hours before being sworn in for the second time as President of the United States, Donald Trump shocked the international community with the news that he was launching his own cryptocurrency, called $TRUMP. A precedent that provoked many questions..

published on 1/29/25 10:30 AM

CITUB: The poorest people in Bulgaria will grow poorer, and faster than before

The financial situation in the country is critical, Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova says. Which means that the good news – the slowing inflation rate (on an annual basis) and Bulgaria’s full accession to the Schengen area at the beginning of the..

published on 1/28/25 12:58 PM

Moody's Ratings affirms Bulgaria’s Baa1 ratings, maintains stable outlook

Moody's Ratings has affirmed Bulgaria's long-term and short-term rating at Baa1 with a stable outlook. The affirmation of Bulgaria's Baa1 rating reflects the rating agency's expectations that Bulgaria's debt and creditworthiness indicators will remain..

published on 1/25/25 4:27 PM