At the end of last year, loans withdrawn from banks amounted to BGN 54.739 billion, increasing by 7.7% on an annual basis, compared to 6.2% year-on-year increase by the end of September 2018, shows statistics of the Bulgarian National Bank bank. At the end of 2018, the money in circulation is over BGN 17.325 billion Average borrowing rates for business declined in December At the end of the year, consumer loans grew by 17.7% on an annual basis

At the end of December 2018, compared to the end of the previous quarter, the number of business and household loans declined by 0.1% and their size increased by 1%. The central bank reported that at the end of last year the number of loans was 3,066 million. On an annual basis, they grew by 11.6% against a 10.2% annual increase at the end of September 2018.

The amount of corporate loans as at 31 December was BGN 32,910 billion, an increase of 5.5% on an annual basis, compared to a 4% annual increase at the end of September.

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, the number of loans amounted to 147 thousand, decreasing by 0.7% on an annual basis, with an annual growth of 0.4% at the end of September. The largest decrease is in the number of loans drawn between BGN 5 thousand and BGN 10 thousand. For one year, the decline was 4%.

The BNB calculates that the number of business loans decreased by 3.3% compared to the end of the third quarter, and their size increased by 0.4%.

At the end of December 2018, the size of the loans to households and firms servicing them grew on an annual basis by 11.2% reaching BGN 21.829 billion, compared with an annual increase of 9.7% at the end of the third quarter.

The number of loans increased by 12.3% on an annual basis, reaching 2.918 million against a 10.8% annual increase at the end of September. At the end of December, compared to the end of the third quarter of last year, the number of these loans increased by 0.1% and their size by 1.9%.

The biggest increase is the number of loans that the citizens have taken in the range from BGN 100 thousand to BGN 250 thousand, on an annual basis they grow by 20%, they calculate at the central bank.