Nina Stoyanova: Bank of Bulgaria’s latest projects in the area of financial services and payments Speech by Ms Nina Stoyanova, Deputy Governor (Banking Department) of the Bulgarian National Bank, at the opening of the “Innovations” Financial Forum, Sofia, 14 June 2016. *  *  *  Dear colleagues and guests, I would like to welcome you at the Financial Forum ‘Innovations’ organised for the third year in a row by the ‘Bank of the Year’ Association in partnership with the University of Finance, Business and Entrepreneurship (VUZF). The topic of this forum gives us the opportunity to present and discuss the innovations in the financial sector in the area of technologies, banking products and regulations. In this regard, I would like to briefly present the latest projects in the area of financial services and payments, on which the BNB is working. Later today our colleagues are going to give you more details on these projects, which will have an impact on the financial sector over the next couple of years. As you are well aware, the legal and regulatory framework of financial services and payments in Bulgaria is consistent with all European trends and requirements aiming to achieve an integrated European market, to harmonise the rules and conditions for providing payment services, to promote innovative payment methods, to ensure a high level of security for payments and better consumer protection.
Thus, additional development and modernization of the Bulgarian government securities market is expected to be achieved and its further integration into the European Union’s single market to be encouraged. This will allow by the end of next year financial institutions to freely select the place where they trade in government securities issued in Bulgaria, in compliance with the requirements under Regulation 2015/61 concerning the assessment of liquid assets in the form of government securities. This would possibly provide the prerequisites for additional diversification of the investors in Bulgarian government debt instruments. These changes are conceived in line with the debt management and financial markets security policy in the context of our future euro area membership and are necessitated by regulatory reforms at EU level. Finally, I would like to mention a project successfully completed recently. On 31 May 2016 Bulgaria subscribed to the Special Data Dissemination Standard Plus of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bulgaria is the 11th country worldwide to adhere to this highest tier international data dissemination standard. Adhering to this standard is the result of the joint efforts of the Bulgarian National Bank as coordinator for Bulgaria, the National Statistical Institute, and the Ministry of Finance. The BNB oversaw the adherence efforts and was responsible for developing the so-called National Summary Data Page, which is already available on the BNB website. The greater part of the new statistical indicators included in the standard are compiled by the BNB.