In May 2008 the Base Interest Rate was 4.93%, rising by 1.12 percentage points compared to May 2007, the Bulgarian National Bank said.

The LEONIA Reference Rate was 4.96%, rising by 1.12 percentage points in comparison with May 2007. In May 2008 the 1-month SOFIBOR Reference Rate rose by 2.44 percentage points to 6.52% compared to May of the previous year and that for the 3-month maturity rose by 2.48 percentage points to 6.88%.

In May 2008 the yield to maturity on BGN five-year government securities in the secondary market was 4.81%, rising by 0.62 percentage points compared to the same month of 2007. In May 2008 the long-term interest rate for convergence purposes (LTIR) was 4.95%, rising by 0.69 percentage points compared to May 2007.

Loans to Non-financial corporations sector. In May 2008, compared to the same month of the previous year, the average interest rate on loans up to 1 million EUR increased by 1.13 percentage points to 10.63% and that on loans over 1 million EUR – by 0.98 percentage points to 9.31%.

Loans to Households sector. Compared to May 2007, the average interest rate on consumer loans, on loans for house purchases and on other loans increased respectively by 0.96 percentage points to 10.77%, by 0.33 percentage points to 8.81%, and by 0.18 percentage points to 12.85%.