2024-03-27 16:44:03
The year 2024 continues to break records in terms of thrift of Bulgarians, but also in terms of new loans taken.
At the end of February, household deposits in banks were already over BGN 80.8 billion, having increased by BGN 7.9 billion on an annual basis. This is the highest amount ever saved in one year. In February alone, a new 600 million BGN was deposited. The amount people keep in banks is now 40.8% of GDP.
The deposits of companies also continue to increase, although not at such high rates, BNB data show. On an annual basis, their increase is by 5.1%, and the volume of these savings has reached BGN 43 billion. Together with the deposits of financial enterprises and the non-governmental sector, the amount reaches BGN 127.7 billion, which is an increase of 8, 5% per annum. In December and in January, the growth of all deposits was higher – 9.5%.
All this is happening against the background of a near-zero return on this money, which even turns negative if inflation is taken into account.
Against this background, the growth in lending is impressive. The loans taken out by households at the end of February reached BGN 39.4 billion. This is an increase of BGN 5.7 billion for the year, or by 17.1% more compared to a growth of 16.3% in January.
In the case of housing loans, the increase is even higher – 22%. The loans taken out by households for the purchase of the property are already BGN 20.5 billion. In February alone, a new BGN 400 million were taken.
In the case of consumers, the annual growth was more modest – 13.1%, but it was also higher compared to the previous January, when it was 12.6%.