Net Financial Wealth of Bulgarian Households Tripled in 9 Years

The net financial wealth of Bulgarian households more than tripled in the past 9 years, amounting to nearly EUR 25 B by 2013, according to data of UniCredit Group.

According to the analysis of UniCredit´s CEE Strategic Analysis department, the net financial wealth of Bulgarian households is to reach EUR 26.9 B in 2014, compared to a level of around EUR 7 B in 2004.

The data was presented during the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Warsaw, according to reports of Trud daily.

Over the past 9 years, Bulgaria outpaced the average growth registered in the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), where the financial wealth of households more than doubled to nearly EUR 780 B.

Over half of the liabilities of Bulgarian households are consumer loans and 45% are mortgages. The total amount of liabilities by 2013 stands at around EUR 10.4 B and analysts expect the rate to climb to EUR 10.5 B by 2015, according to Capital Daily.

By end-2013, cash assets, comprising currency and bank deposits, accounted for 82% of the financial assets of Bulgarian households, while investments in shares and other types of securities made up only 2% of the portfolio. The remaining 16% of the total were institutionalized assets such as mutual and pension funds and insurance technical reserves.

UniCredit Group analysts expect the ratio in Bulgaria to remain almost unchanged next year, with cash registering a slight decrease to 80% of the total by 2015.