Bulgaria's bad loans reach 9B leva in October
Bulgaria's non-performing and restructured loans reached 9.02 billion leva at the end of October, representing 22 per cent of of local banks' combined portfolios against 21.56 per cent the previous month, Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data showed on November 23 2011.Under BNB rules, bad and restructured loans are those that have not been serviced for more than 90 and 180 days, respectively, as well as those which have been rescheduled, but payments on which have been resumed.Corporate overdue loans accounted for 23.43 per cent of the total portfolios on October 31. The share of non-performing consumer loans stood at 20.04 per cent, while bad and restructured mortgages stood at 19.27 per cent of the total.The report shows that lending in the country remains subdued despite banks' attempts to encourage borrowing through various promotions.In monthly terms, lending edged up 0.26 per cent in October. Bulgarian banks' loan portfolio went up by 2.55 per cent compared to October 2010./Source: The Sofia Echo/