Bulgarian banks have started to more closely scrutinise mortgage loan applicants, showed a Dnevnik poll of credit consultants.

Some lenders have squeezed funding to 60 per cent or 70 per cent of the cost of the property and only give 10 per cent more for purchases in Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv and Bourgas.

Others put off until early next year the answers of mortgage loan requests with the Christmas and New Year holidays just round the corner leaving no time to process applications, said financial advisors Fincity.

The market will thaw around mid-January, experts say.

UniCredit Bulbank confirmed reports that lenders have adopted more austere criteria for assessing borrowers' creditworthiness, and many have gone back to 2002-2003 practices, just before the market boomed.

MKB Unionbank said it is making more detailed research on applicants' capacities to repay in the face of a growing cost of resources.

Euro-denominated mortgages are fortifying positions against local-currency products thanks to the lower interest rates.

Mortgages make 46.7 per cent of all household loans and have been outpacing than consumer loans in the recent years.

Source: Dnevnik.bg