The Bulgarian National Bank has lowered the base interest rate for the second consecutive month. As of August 1, it stands at 3.53%, down from 3.63% in July. Since the end of 2023, the base interest rate has been gradually falling. From February 2016 to September 2022, the base interest rate was 0.00%. On October 1, 2022, the rate went up to 0.49%.
As of June 30, the net profit of the banking system for 2024 was EUR 0.9 billion, representing a 7.1% increase compared to the first six months of 2023, according to BNB statistics. Over a quarter of the income comes from fees and commissions. Banks earned EUR 1.6 billion from interest on loans in the first half of the year and paid out EUR 290 million in interest on deposits. Bank assets increased by over EUR 1 billion or 1.2% in the first half of 2024. Losses have risen by EUR 46 million to EUR 139 million, representing a 50.1% increase compared to the first six months of 2023.
On October 31, 2024, 10 business leaders in Bulgaria founded the first Bulgarian-Czech Chamber of Commerce in the country. At the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Sofia, in the presence of Martin Dvořák, Minister of European Affairs of the Czech..
In the space of 15 years, from 2005 until 2020, 75% of the farms in the country have disappeared – from 500,000 in 2005 down to 132,000 in 2020, said Prof. Dr. Bozhidar Ivanov, Director of the Institute of Agrarian Economics at an international..
In October 2024, the total business climate indicator decreased by 5.6 percentage points compared to September, dropping from 22.5% to 16.9%. The index declined in all monitored sectors, the National Statistical Institute announced. In industry, the..
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