Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

The Bulgarian National Bank has lowered the base interest rate

Photo: BGNES-archive

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.




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

Political instability is a major challenge for German investors in Bulgaria

The German economy has been shrinking and the government expects a decline of 0.2% of GDP. Some of the main reasons for this include unresolved structural problems related to lack of energy security, excessive bureaucracy and shortage..

published on 10/24/24 9:15 AM

Experts about Bulgaria’s financial policy as the country edges towards a new parliament and a draft budget for 2025

After the election for parliament on 27 October, the caretaker government has to submit a draft of a budget for 2025 to parliament by the end of the month. Some economic analysts say the budget of the country for 2024 is the worst in the past decade. Holes..

updated on 10/23/24 12:52 PM

IMF predicts 2.8 per cent inflation in Bulgaria in 2024

Bulgaria's economy will grow by 2.3 per cent this year. This is according to the latest World Economic Outlook prepared by the International Monetary Fund and presented today in Washington. This is down from the Fund's April estimate, which predicted that..

published on 10/22/24 6:44 PM