Non-performing fast loans have increased at the end of last year, according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) as of the end of 2024. According to statistics, in December overdue non-bank loans reached nearly BGN 476 million, which is a 30.8% increase compared to the same month in 2023. This represents shares of 7.2% of the granted loans. At the end of 2024, the share of unpaid fast loans increased because, unlike previous periods, their value increased outpaced that of newly disbursed loans.
Throughout 2024 the data shows a significant increase in delinquencies during the first and last quarters, but their value remained consistently above BGN 400 million. BNB data does not provide detailed analysis by sectors, but since most of the granted loans are consumer, we can indirectly conclude that the problematic ones are there. The data for non-bank lending includes both typical “quick money” companies and bank subsidiaries that have outsourced consumer lending to external companies.
In this sense, the growth of non-bank loans is indirectly related to that of mortgage lending, as many housing loans are granted supplemented with consumer credit. According to BNB’s monetary statistics, at the end of January, mortgage loans issued by Bulgarian banks exceeded BGN 26 billion – a 29.3% increase year-on-year. The growth rate is almost the same as in December, while the growth of bank consumer loans remains at 12% (see the chart).
January’s increase in corporate loans is much more modest, at 11.5%, reaching nearly BGN 49.4 billion. Monetary statistics differ slightly from those for supervisory purposes, with the latter being more detailed and published quarterly. According to supervisory data, at the end of December, unpaid bank loans (with over 90 days past due) were nearly BGN 2.16 billion or 1.8% of all credits. For years, the trend has been for unpaid loans in banks’ portfolios to decrease as a share, thanks also to timely sales to specialized debt collection companies.
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