Overdue receivables in financial leasing remain unchanged as a proportion of the total portfolio in the segment, whilst the growth rate of newly granted financing in the market, in absolute terms, has been outpacing the increase in outstanding payments not paid on time, according to data about Bulgarian leasing companies’ claims under financial leases from the central bank as of June. 2026.  

The leasing market in Bulgaria continued to grow and reached a new record at the end of the first half of the year – nearly €4 billion. Financial leasing, which accounts for over 95 per cent of the total market, has been growing at double-digit rates – 8.4 % on the quarter and 10.8 per cent year-on-year. The new car market, particularly that for passenger cars, has been a major contributor to this growth and has also been recording record growth. Sales of new cars in Bulgaria during the first seven months of 2026 reached 34 283 new passenger cars (categories M1 and N1), representing an increase of over 7 per cent compared with the previous period, according to data on the number of registered motor vehicles from the Ministry of the Interior. At the current rate of growth, and provided this trend continues until the end of the year, this will be a record year for the sector. The growth in new car sales has been automatically reflected in car leasing, which continued to grow at high, double-digit rates on the year, reaching EUR 2.2 billion at the end of June – 18.36% more compared to the same period a year earlier. Car leasing accounts for over half of the total volume of financing granted by leasing companies.

The growth in leasing volumes has been accompanied by an increase in overdue payments by customers. However, non-performing exposure has been rising at a slower rate relative to the total value of the leasing portfolio – by 3.4 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 8.6 per cent on the year, according to BNB data as at June. Moreover, unlike in March, when the proportion of arrears in the total portfolio rose slightly, it now remains unchanged as a proportion of the total portfolio – 1.77 per cent – which is not far from the historic low of less than one per cent in September 2008. By way of comparison, during the subsequent difficult years following the burst of the global financial and economic crisis, the sector used to struggle with double-digit levels of non-performing exposures, with arrears reaching nearly 30 per cent of the total portfolio at certain times.

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