As of October 1, the BNB has tightened the criteria for banks when granting housing loans.
Among the new conditions are that the monthly contribution is a maximum of 50% of the income for the period, a minimum of 15% deductible, coverage by the bank of up to 85% of the value of the apartment, maximum term under the loan agreement – 30 years.
According to credit consultant Tihomir Toshev, the changes will not lead to an increase in interest rates on loans, which are now between 2.4 and 2.8%. He pointed out on bTV that now is the most active season and by the end of the year the most mortgages will be taken out, with figures expected for another record year. After the New Year, he expects a slight increase in interest rates, but not above 3%.
He called for people not to panic, as the BNB is setting a framework that it wants the banks to comply with, as well as the customers. The idea, according to him, is to avoid future risks for both the banking system and customers due to the 20% growth in lending since the beginning of the year. He emphasized that both parties lose with an unserviced loan.
Toshev stated that most people have money saved, and Bulgaria has the lowest penetration of mortgage lending in the EU. This, according to him, is due to more than BGN 60 billion saved since 2008. Then there were BGN 22 billion in the banks, now there are BGN 85 billion.
He clarified that the new rules do not mention that a consumer credit cannot be withdrawn for the mandatory 15% deductible. In such a case, however, the customer must pay installments on two loans, and they must be a maximum of 50% of the monthly income.
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