Eurasia Press & News
Bulgaria’s financial system and the central bank’s balance sheet are in very good condition, and there is no reason for concern, Bulgarian National Bank, BNB, governor Ivan Iskrov announced.
At a presentation of the events planned for BNB’s 130th anniversary, Iskrov said that many countries could only dream enviously of the current state of the Bulgarian financial system.
There was no reason at this stage to take further regulatory action, according to deputy central bank governor Dimitar Kostov. Other European Union member states were tightening banking rules, but Bulgaria did not need to follow suit as it had already done so, including meeting the terms of capital requirement, Kostov added.
The EU’s total capital adequacy requirement is set at 8 per cent. In Bulgaria, the requirement is 12 per cent but, at the end of 2008, the capital adequacy ratio of the its banking system was 14.86 per cent.
Stringent policies and provisions worth about 2 to 3 billion leva (€1.02 – €1.53 billion), provided Bulgarian banks with a comfortable buffer. The central bank had extended the regulatory period after which banks had to increase provisions on bad loans, a move that would enable lenders to be even more flexible with their capital, Kostov said.
The stable financial system and the BNB’s tight supervisory standards had mitigated the impact of the global financial and economic crisis, according to bank governor Iskrov. He reiterated his earlier calls for the media to take the gloomy forecasts of foreign analysts and institutions with a pinch of salt, saying they were not familiar with the specific features of the Bulgarian market.
