Housing loans taken out by Bulgarian households currently add up to just less than four billion leva, says Bulgarian National Bank.

As of the end April 2007, loans borrowed by households and the non-profit organisations that service them, reached a record 10.18 billion leva. BNB monthly statistics show that in one month alone, the amount that people had borrowed was four per cent higher than in March 2007.

The amount of household loans in March 2007 was 9.79 billion leva, which accounts for more than 39.1 per cent of all loans. Furthermore, the data shows a year-on-year growth rate of 37.6 per cent.

Household overdrafts grew in April 2007 as well, by 3.2 per cent, reaching 910.79 million leva. Consumer and housing loans grew by 3.4 and 4.9 per cent, respectively, up to 4.36 and 3.99 billion leva, respectively.

During April 2007, housing loans grew by 189 million leva, as their relative share reached 43 per cent of all loans. In April 2006, the share of these loans was 33.6 per cent.

Company loans grew by 4.7 per cent on a monthly basis, reaching 15.94 billion leva. According to BNB statistics, household deposits at the end of March 2007 were 15.14 billion leva, 60.8 per cent of all deposits. Deposits were 24.2 per cent higher in March this year than in March 2006.

Non-financial companies’ deposits were of common value of 9.5 billion leva, accounting for 38.6 per cent share. The growth on an annual basis here was significant: 39.2 per cent.

Although there was growth in borrowing, Bulgarian households’ financial assets increased by 27 per cent in 2006. However, debts grew simultaneously by 33 per cent as a result of the favourable credit terms offered by all banks, and the positive expectations connected to people’s incomes.

Financial assets in 2006 surpassed financial liabilities by 234 million leva, according to data in the UniCredit Group report on the financial wealth of households in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), released in the week of May 21-25.

Temporary measures to calm credit growth and to strengthen banks’ regulations did not lead to a decrease in the volume of households’ loans. At the end of 2006, households’ financial liabilities in relation to GDP reached values slightly higher than the average for CEE, UniCredit Group said.

In addition, the speed of household debt growth in Bulgaria is expected to slow down by the end of 2009, even though it will proceed to outstrip GDP nominal growth. Retail loan interest rates will follow the dynamics of the global interest percentages, as most of them are bound to them, UniCredit Group analysts said, reported Bulgarian-language Monitor on May 29.