MORTGAGE INTEREST
Mortgage loan interest rates have increased by one to 1.5 percentage points so far this year, Tihomir Toshev, chairperson of Bulgaria’s association of credit consultants, told Bulgarian news agency BTA on August 20. Some banks have raised their interest rates three times this year. Lending restrictions imposed by the Bulgarian National Bank late in 2007 are the main reason for the increase of interest rates on mortgages, analysts have said. The increase has also been attributed to the global credit crunch and the appreciation of staple foods and products. Financial resources are limited, while banks are increasingly cautious, Toshev said.

NEW BILL
Borrowers will be able to repay their floating rate consumer loans early and incur no early repayment charge under a new bill being drafted by the Bulgarian central bank, Dnevnik daily reported on August 19. The bill will implement relevant European Union regulations that must be enforced by member states from May 2010. The bulk of the consumer loans in the portfolios of Bulgarian banks have a floating rate. The new rules will apply to loans contracted after the new bill has taken effect.

RAIFFEISEN
The two leasing units of Raiffeisen International in Bulgaria raised their combined assets in the first half of the year by an annual 69 per cent to 539 million leva, Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria said on August 18. Raiffeisen Leasing Bulgaria and its car leasing arm, both set up in 2004, had a total of 14 branches at the end of last year. The two companies’ combined assets more than doubled to 425 million leva in 2007, and the combined leasing portfolio increased 110 per cent to 384 million leva.

DSK BANK
Bulgaria’s DSK Group, owned by Hungarian banking group OTP, has raised its first-half net profit by 22.7 per cent on the year to 63.9 million euro, OTP said on August 15, as quoted by SeeNews corporate wire. DSK Bank, Bulgaria’s second-largest lender, contributed the most to the group’s results, OTP said. Currently, DSK Group includes DSK Bank, a pension fund, two leasing companies, a security company and a travel agency. The group closed the operations of its asset management company in 2007 and sold its general and life insurance business to French insurance company Groupama.