Bulgaria’s Employment Strategy Struggles to Shift Focus from Temporary Subsidies to Long-Term Skills
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Labor and Social Policy released its National Employment Action Plan (NAP) for 2025 in early May,
Bulgaria’s central bank has said its commitment and action taken so far create prerequisites for the timely finalisation of the acquisition of the branch nework of Greece's Alpha Bank in the country by Postbank, a subsidiary of another Greek lender, Eurobank.
The deal, announced on 17 July, needs the approval of Bulgarian and Greek regulators as well as the Single Supervisory Mechanism of the eurozone. The parties to the transaction expect it to be completed by the end of the year.
The SSM is the home supervisor of the eurozone banks’ divisions and branches operating in Bulgaria.
Four Greek-owned banks operate in Bulgaria, holding about a fifth of the assets of the country’s banking system.
While Eurobank, Piraues Bank and National Bank of Greece each operate in Builgaria through subsidiaries subject to the supervision of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Alpha Bank is a branch, which means the BNB cannot exercise full control over the lender.
“The BNB supports the market-driven consolidation processes and ownership transformation in the banking system, which also further strengthen the capital base and liquidity, financial autonomy and operational independence from other countries’ banking systems”, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a statement.
In recent weeks, Bulgaria has seen a noticeable uptick in demand for euro banknotes
The adoption of the euro in Bulgaria is not expected to cause fast loans to become more expensive
Although converting leva into euros may appear straightforward - just divide by the fixed rate of 1.95583 - reality brings far more complexity
The Bulgarian National Bank will stay the course with its conservative and stability-oriented monetary policy even after the country enters the eurozone
The demand for euros in Bulgaria has surged by about 50%
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