Varna keeps BBB+ credit rating but still has no 2026 budget

The Bulgarian Credit Rating Agency (BCRA) has confirmed Varna’s long-term credit rating at BBB+ with a stable outlook and its short-term rating at A-2, the municipality announced on 13 October 2026. The good news comes with a catch: as of late October, Varna is still working without an adopted 2026 budget, which the Municipal Council is expected to discuss at its November session.

What did the rating agency decide?

According to the municipality’s announcement published by BTA, BCRA’s rating committee kept the level Varna reached with an upgrade at the end of 2025. The city says BBB+ is the highest rating possible under the “sovereign ceiling”. In plain words: a city is not rated above its own country. Varna remains one of the three best-rated municipalities in Bulgaria, together with Sofia and Burgas. The agency pointed to good results on several financial indicators, financial discipline and effective management.

Deputy Mayor for Finance Kiril Simeonov called the decision an independent assessment of the city’s financial sustainability and said keeping it requires continued discipline and responsible management of public money. No debt or deficit figures were published with the announcement.

Why is BBB+ the ceiling?

Bulgaria itself is rated BBB+. As BTA reported on 26 September 2026, Fitch affirmed the country at BBB+ and changed its outlook to positive, which means an upgrade is possible but not certain. If the state is upgraded, the ceiling for cities like Varna rises too, but that does not happen automatically.

Why is Varna still without a 2026 budget?

The municipality said on 23 October that it is still operating without an adopted budget for the year. In the meantime, the administration asked the council’s finance committee to approve November–December culture spending in advance. The committee refused, which put the New Year’s Eve concert and other events at risk (see our report on the culture budget dispute). On 26 October BNR Radio Varna reported that the budget is expected to be discussed at the November session; no exact date was given.

What it means for Varna

• Borrowing: a good rating usually makes loans cheaper when the city borrows for projects such as roads or schools. It is a grade for creditworthiness, not money in the bank.
• Day-to-day spending: until the budget is adopted, new commitments, from the end-of-year culture programme to repairs, are harder to plan; the culture calendar is the first visible example, as it now waits for a council decision.
• What to watch in November: whether the council adopts the 2026 budget, how it handles the culture calendar and the New Year concert, and whether the municipality publishes debt figures alongside the draft.

For the wider economic background, see our report on inflation in Bulgaria in September 2026.