Nearly 69 per cent of credit lines provided by the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) have been used by companies, the Bank said. By mid-June commercial banks had negotiated 222 million leva in 493 loans, and the BDB had released 324 million leva in financing to small and medium-sized enterprises and agricultural producers.

The largest proportion of funding, 26 per cent, was made available to the processing industry, followed by trade and services with 24.3 per cent of 250 million leva provided in investment financing. Agriculture is third with nearly 19 per cent of total financing. The hotel industry with 8.6 per cent and construction with 5 per cent of total financing make up the top five.

Predictably, the bulk of loans are issued in large cities. Sofia is first with 72 loans, followed by Plovdiv, Rousse, Varna and Bourgas. Of the companies approved for financing, 24 are based in Plovdiv, 16 in Rousse, 15 in Varna and 13 in Bourgas.

The BDB was established by a special law in April of 2008. It provides pre-export direct and indirect financing to micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as long-term investment financing, directly or indirectly through commercial banks.

Source: BTA