A Council for the Development of the Capital Market in Bulgaria was created due to the initiative of the Central Depository AD, the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) and the partnership with financial industry organizations. A Memorandum for the establishment of the Council was signed on 11 October 2016 and the industry organizations represented in the Council are:
- Association of Banks in Bulgaria, which UniCredit Bulbank is a member of
- Association of Bulgarian Insurers
- Association of Directors of Investor Relations
- Association of the special purpose vehicles
- Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria
- Bulgarian Association of Supplementary Pension Security Companies
- Bulgarian Association of licensed investment intermediaries
- Bulgarian Association of Asset management companies
- Bulgarian Industrial Association
- Bulgarian stock Exchange-Sofia
- Confederation of employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria
- National Commission on corporate governance
The Council was created as an official platform for cooperation between organizations in the financial sector. Among its main priorities are the development of a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for capital market development in the medium and long term; the increase of market capitalization and trading volumes on the regulated market; a better regulation of financial markets; the creation of conditions for financing small and medium enterprises through the capital market; the introduction of new financial instruments for trading on a regulated market; enabling the financing of public offerings of financial instruments through operational programs and EU funds, and others.
For the implementation of the Council's priorities, a Coordination Steering Group was established and it includes representatives of the organizations that signed the memorandum. The functions performed by the Coordination Steering Group are analysis, assessment and forecast of the state of the financial sector; public discussions and research on relevant topics; development of a national program to increase the financial literacy of potential customers of financial services and preparation of proposals for legislative changes in non-banking financial sector.
The Coordination Steering Group will act in accordance with certain rules such as the equal treatment of all participants, in order to adopt common positions on issues of paramount importance for the capital market, and the hold of constructive consultations that avoid the pursuit of sectoral and individual members’ interests and cases.
The memorandum is unlimited and any other organization that is related to and shares the principles of the non-banking financial sector may join the Council.
Impact on investors: Initiative for the development of the Bulgarian capital market.