Interest rates on consumer debts will become costlier after September this year because of central bank measures to curb credit growth, the chairperson of the Bulgarian Association of Commercial Banks Levon Hampartzoumian said.

The minimum reserve requirements that commercial banks will have maintain at Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) will be 12 per cent of the deposit base of the banks, instead of eight per cent, starting September 1 2007, Focus news agency reported.

BNB’s board of directors decided on the step after borrowing rose sharply in the first quarter of 2006.

BNB wants to limit any increase of credit risk in the banking system.