The interest-free loans approved by commercial banks for individuals reached nearly BGN 50 million. This is shown by the data as of July 13 this year of the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) for the progress of the Program for guaranteeing interest-free loans for employees on unpaid leave and self-insured persons who are temporarily unable to work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The commercial banks, partners in the program, have received 20,677 loan applications, of which 11,986 have been confirmed and 1,701 are being processed. The average value of the loans is BGN 4,200.

Two thirds of the claims are of persons on an employment contract, and the remaining one third are of self-insured persons.
The deadline for applying for the interest-free lending program is until the end of 2020. A total of 12 commercial banks are partners in it. Currently, 10 of them accept applications from applicants. These are Allianz Bank, DSK Bank, Investbank, UBB, First Investment Bank, Postbank, Raiffeisenbank, D Commercial Bank, Central Cooperative Bank and UniCredit Bulbank.
International Asset Bank and Municipal Bank were the first to use their financial resources under the program and do not accept new loan applications.

The purpose of the measure is to help employees on unpaid leave and self-employed persons who have stopped working as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They have the opportunity to receive a loan of up to BGN 4,500, granted at once or in three tranches of BGN 1,500 each. The maximum repayment period is 5 years, with a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 24 months grace period.
The loans are exempt from fees, commissions and penalties.