“If I was looking for comfort, I wouldn’t have occupied this seat. Over the last year, the situation was rather tense. Banking supervision is in much better shape now,” stated the head of BNB Dimitar Radev.

His statement was made over a month after stress tests of the banks in Bulgaria. “There was tension in the banking system after the KTB case,” admitted Radev. “The point of this check was to restore confidence in the banking sector.” He added that, after the reforms were carried out, confidence in the banking system has been restored.

“The results were determined and evaluated by independent auditors. The check showed that our banking system is stable. The results were evaluated by investors as well. The IMF gave a positive evaluation as well,” stated Radev.

“All banks are below the regulatory minimum where we have to intervene,” pointed out Radev.

“Consolidation is expected – a merger of the banks in Bulgaria, a process which is taking place all over Europe,” added Radev. There is investor interest from abroad. A year ago, there was zero interest

According to him, the introduction of negative interest rates, meaning that citizens would have to pay banks if they have deposits in them, is not on the agenda. But he does not expect low interest rates to increase any time soon.

In Radev’s opinion, it is too early for Bulgaria to join the Euro Zone since the currency board and the BGN are stable.