PM aims at a budget with a 3% deficit
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced today that the government will be adopting a draft budget for 2025, which meets the main requirements of the Public Finance Act, namely - state expenditure will be restricted to 40% of gross domestic product with no more than a 3% deficit.
"We will not propose exotic measures," the Prime Minister also said, adding that the tax and social security burden will not change and the VAT Law will not be amended.
Zhelyazkov added that he expects the draft budget to be supported by WCC-DB in order to pass a law that provides a chance to request a convergence report from the European Commission and Bulgaria's entry into the eurozone.
Housing loans boost bank profits to 3.7 billion levs in 2024
The local credit boom produced a new record for bank profits in 2024, when they reached almost 3.7 billion levs, increasing by 278 million levs, or 8.1%. The strong result seems to be driven almost exclusively by new business and growing portfolios, especially in housing loans.
With the ECB lowering interest rates since the summer of 2024, Bulgarian banks' margins have already started to compress and, in fact, the return on capital is falling by over 1 percentage point compared to 2023, to below 17%.
Bankers are probably taking the news of the record profit with slightly mixed feelings in light of the recent appetites to tax them with excess profits. This idea was dropped in the draft budget of the caretaker government, and now the regular government's requests are for neither an increase nor the introduction of new taxes. However, given the ongoing concerns about public finances and the reluctance to take unpopular measures, the topic can always recur.
Hemus motorway to extend by another 14 km
The Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov has signed a construction permit for nearly 14 kilometers of the Hemus motorway, the ministry announced today. The section is part of section 4 of the motorway.
The issued permit is for part at the eastern end of the section, which begins at the Pleven junction and ends at the Letnitsa junction. The section is expected to be completed in 2026.
PM aims at a budget with a 3% deficit
Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced today that the government will be adopting a draft budget for 2025, which meets the main requirements of the Public Finance Act, namely - state expenditure will be restricted to 40% of gross domestic product with no more than a 3% deficit.
