Interest rates on consumer loans at banks: September 2026
The average interest rate on new consumer loans at banks in September 2026 is 8.83%, and the average APR is 9.11%, according to Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) data published on 27 October 2026. In August the interest rate was 8.91% and the APR 9.20%: both have fallen by about 0.1 percentage points. From January to September 2026 the average interest rate was between 8.49% (February) and 9.12% (July).
The average figure comes mostly from long loans. For a term of over 1 and up to 5 years the average APR is 15.17%, and for a term of up to 1 year 19.79%.
New consumer loans to households, all banks, September 2026. The next release of the BNB interest rate statistics is due on 26 November 2026 at 14:00 with the data for October.
Interest rate and APR over the last 24 months
Over the last 24 months the average APR has been between 8.80% in February 2026 and 10.63% in December 2024. Since January 2025 it has stayed within a range of 8.80% to 9.51%.
Average interest rate and average APR on new household consumer loans at all banks, in percent, scale from 0 to 11%. The latest month is at the top. BNB, interest rate statistics. Before 2026 the BNB sums loans in leva and in euro.
Compared with September 2025, the interest rate is about 0.2 percentage points lower and the APR about 0.2 percentage points lower. In the BNB’s whole series since 2007, the average APR was highest in June 2009, at 14.80%, and lowest in June 2022, at 7.98%.
In September banks granted new consumer loans worth €627.3 million. That is 3.2% less than in August and 30.6% more than in September 2025. All consumer loans at banks come to €12.419 billion at the end of September, 16.0% more than a year earlier.
Interest rate and APR by loan term
The shorter the loan, the higher the average rate. The figures for September 2026:
| Term | Interest | APR | Share of the amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 19.51% | 19.79% | 2.4% |
| Over 1 up to 5 years | 14.81% | 15.17% | 22.1% |
| Over 5 years | 6.74% | 7.00% | 75.5% |
| All terms | 8.83% | 9.11% | 100% |
Average interest rate and average APR by initial term of new consumer loans. “Share of the amount” is the part of all new consumer loans for the month (€627.3 million). BNB, tables LOAN_NBO_HH and APRC, September 2026.
Three quarters of the money was lent for terms of more than 5 years. The average APR of 9.11% is weighted by those amounts, so it sits close to the figure for long-term loans. A loan for exactly 5 years falls in the group of over 1 and up to 5 years, where the average APR is 15.17%.
Month on month, the APR falls for loans of up to 1 year and of over 1 and up to 5 years, while for terms of over 5 years it rises by 0.08 percentage points. Year on year, it is lower for loans of up to 1 year (by 1.47 percentage points) and of over 1 and up to 5 years (by 0.10 percentage points), while for terms of over 5 years it is higher by 0.08 percentage points.
Why do short loans have a higher APR?
Mostly because of the interest rate itself: 19.51% for terms up to 1 year against 6.74% for terms over 5 years. Fees add little. In every group the APR is 0.26 to 0.36 percentage points above the interest rate.
The same fee weighs more on a short term, because it is spread over fewer months. At an interest rate of 8.83%, a fee of 1% of the amount raises the APR of a €10,000 loan by about 2.1 percentage points over a 1-year term and by about 0.5 percentage points over a 5-year term.
In the over-5-years group, BNB also counts consumer loans secured by a mortgage. A secured loan has a much lower average interest rate, as shown below, but the tables do not show how many of the long loans are secured.
What a €10,000 loan over 5 years costs
At the average rate for a term of over 1 and up to 5 years, 14.81%, the payment is about €237 a month, and over 5 years you repay €14,214, of which €4,214 is interest. At the overall average rate, 8.83%, which is weighted towards long loans, the payment is €207:
| Interest | Payment | You repay a total of | Of which interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14.81%, average for a term of over 1 and up to 5 years | €237 | €14,214 | €4,214 |
| 8.83%, the average for all terms (it comes mostly from long loans) | €207 | €12,406 | €2,406 |
Equal monthly payments for 60 months, a monthly interest rate equal to the annual rate divided by 12, no fees or insurance. Our calculation at the BNB average rates for September 2026.
The difference between the two rows is €1,808 for the same amount and the same term. Fees and mandatory insurance come on top, so with an offer look at the APR and the total amount payable.
For how much loan your salary allows at these rates, see salary and loan amount. Work out the payment for your own amount and term with the loan calculator.
Overdraft and credit card versus consumer loan
Credit card debt after the interest-free period costs 21.52% a year on average. That is 2.4 times the average rate on a new consumer loan. An overdraft averages 13.52%.
Average rates on household balances at the end of September 2026, all banks. For overdrafts and cards the BNB does not calculate an APR. BNB, table OVDR_CC_OA_HH.
If you have been paying interest on a card or sitting in overdraft for months, compare it with the payment on a consumer loan for the same amount. The difference in the average rate is from 4.7 to 12.7 percentage points.
A low-interest loan: when to compare several banks
The average rate is lowest on fully secured consumer loans: 3.59% in September 2026 against 8.83% for all new ones. If you own a property and need a larger amount, see loan secured on property.
BNB does not publish each bank’s rates separately, so the official data does not show which banks have the lowest loan rates. Your rate becomes clear from the offer that comes after an assessment of your income and credit history (Art. 16 of the Consumer Credit Act).
Comparing mostly makes sense for a larger amount and a longer term, because there every point of interest is more money. If the APR of your offer is above the average for the same term, ask for other offers too. For a loan with a term of over 1 and up to 5 years the average APR is now 15.17%. Non-bank lenders are not in these figures: the BNB reports them separately, and CreditArena has an analysis of the BNB statistics on non-bank lenders (in Bulgarian).
Before you sign, the lender must give you a standard European form with the APR and the total amount payable (Art. 5 of the same Act). Put the forms side by side and compare these two figures. You can check the APR of an offer with the APR calculator.
Ask several lenders for offers
If the APR on your offer is above the average for the same term, ask for more. An application through CREDiPORT goes to the lenders whose criteria you meet, and you are under no obligation to accept an offer.
Go to consumer loansSources: BNB, interest rate statistics for September 2026 (press release and tables of 27 October 2026), methodological notes and the announcement of 19 February 2026 on the changes following accession to the euro area; BNB, monetary, credit and deposit indicators for September 2026; Consumer Credit Act, Art. 5, 16 and 19. More data: salary and loan amount · interest rates on mortgage loans.