Overdue loans in Bulgaria and in most European countries continue to decrease, according to data provided by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in its regular Risk Dashboard report. At the end of September 2025, the non-performing loans (NPLs) of the Bulgarian banks stood at 1.8% of the total portfolio, down by 0.01 percentage points year-on-year. The same level of decline was observed at the European level as the NPL ratio also reached 1.8% in the third quarter.

The volume of NPLs remained relatively stable at around EUR 373 billion. Loans in Stage 2 continued to slowly decrease reaching 9.3% (see the chart) as of September.

The smallest share is held by unpaid mortgage loans, while the largest share is held by loans granted to small and medium-sized enterprises. While there is no change for businesses, there has been a slight increase on a quarterly basis in non-performing loans for commercial real estate. The highest number of NPLs are registered in Poland, followed by Greece and Romania, while the lowest were booked by Sweden, the three Baltic states, Liechtenstein, and Norway.

According to the data, the quality of assets, solvency, liquidity, and profitability in the banking sector of the EU and the European Economic Area remained stable, even amid increased macroeconomic and geopolitical risks, the report says.