News
Mortgage lending slows down to 47% y/y Aug
Bulgaria’s housing mortgage market showed signs of cooling off rising 47.3% year-on-year in August against 55% in May, showed central bank statistics. On the month, the pace eased to 2.7% from 3.6% in July, 3.4% in June, and 4.4% in April and May each. Volumes also took a downturn as the new loan portfolio slumped to BGN 187.3 million from BGN 240.2 million in July and BGN 212.8 million a year before. The volatile global landscape is facing all segments of the Bulgarian credit market with slower growth as soaring interest rates are dulling borrowers’ appetite. Under data of Draftis, the local credit consultant, UniCredit Bulbank raised consumer loan rates by 0.5 percentage points from October 1, and DSK Bank hiked the price of its housing mortgages on the sixth day of the month. This is the latest in a raft of rate hikes started last September when the first jolt of the global financial crisis saw the Bulgarian National Bank toughening up the reserve requirement to 12% from 8% in an attempt to rein in wild lending. Sweetening deposit terms have further pressured loan prices, and mortgages’ annual percentage rate passes the 10% mark in August. Source: www.dnevnik.bg