Bulgaria operates a two-tier structure of the banking sector. The first level is the Central Bank of Bulgaria, called the Bulgarian national Bank. It is a financial institution engaged in monitoring the activities of the entire banking system, the issuance of licenses to commercial banks and printing money. The main purpose of the Bulgarian national Bank is to ensure stability of the national currency.
The second level is a commercial financial institution, operating under the control of the Central Bank.
Since 1998, Bulgaria has begun to attract increasing interest from foreign financial institutions. In the late 90-ies due to the attracted investments has 8 banks with foreign capital. By 2007, more than 83 % of banking assets were in the hands of foreign investors.
The emergence of financial market foreign players contributed to improving the quality of services provided and made the banking system of Bulgaria even more reliable. Today, almost all banks in the country provide services to its customers Internet Banking, which is very convenient for foreign buyers of Bulgarian property, which can manage your account from anywhere in the world.
A loan by a foreign national
Despite some difficulties, the foreign buyer of real estate can expect to receive a mortgage loan at a local Bank. The main requirements are: transparency of cash flows, and income of the applicant. The receipt of income on the territory of Bulgaria – significantly increases the probability of obtaining Bank loans.
Loans for investment projects of Bulgarian banks generally issue on the following terms:
- Repayment term: 10-30 years;
- Collateral: residential property, land, commercial real estate;
- Loan size: not more than 60-70 % of the appraised value of the collateral;
- The cost of credit: usually with all the cost ranges from 7.5% to 15%;
- Currency: the lion, the dollar or the Euro.
Requirements for obtaining a borrowing may differ depending on the selected Bank.
Major Bulgarian banks
In Bulgaria there are more than 35 banks, most of which, are the financial institutions with mixed capital. Among the largest commercial banks may be mentioned "Bulbank", "Cibank", "IBC Unionbank", "Procreditbank", "Bulgarian-American credit Bank", "TB invest Bank "eurobank", "Societe ... Expressbank", "Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria" and others. "First investment Bank"one of the biggest (the biggest share capital) and reliable banks of the country.
According to Bulgarian law, any foreign national with a valid passport can open account in any Bank of the country. The maintenance fee is 1€. A debit card is issued free of charge in approximately 2 weeks after opening the account.
Important! Do not forget within 30 days to notify the tax authorities in Russia about opening Bank account abroad.
