The Financial Supervision Commission has sent notification about its agreement for the portfolio transfer from „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited“ to the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe) Ltd“


The Financial Supervision Commission has been notified by the competent authority of the United Kingdom (Prudential Regulation Authority) of the forthcoming transfer of an insurance portfolio from the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited“ (with head office in the United Kingdom) to „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe). Ltd.” (with head office in Cyprus). After reviewing the portfolio documents, the FSC decided to send a letter to the national competent authority of the United Kingdom on granting consent for the transfer of the insurance portfolio from the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited“ to the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe) Ltd“.

The Financial Supervision Commission has sent notification about its agreement for the portfolio transfer from „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited“ to the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe) Ltd“


The Financial Supervision Commission has been notified by the competent authority of the United Kingdom (Prudential Regulation Authority) of the forthcoming transfer of an insurance portfolio from the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited“ (with head office in the United Kingdom) to „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe). Ltd.” (with head office in Cyprus). After reviewing the portfolio documents, the FSC decided to send a letter to the national competent authority of the United Kingdom on granting consent for the transfer of the insurance portfolio from the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited“ to the „Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Europe) Ltd“.

The Financial Supervision Commission has been notified on a portfolio transfer from Chevanstell Limited to R and Q Insurance (Malta) Limited

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) notifies all parties concerned that on 10th September, 2013 the competent authority of the United Kingdom (Prudential Regulation Authority) has informed about the intention of Chevanstell Limited (transferring insurer) to transfer all of its non-life insurance business to R&Q Insurance (Malta) Limited (transferee).

FSC has not been notified on the intention of the transferee to operate on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria under the right of establishment or the freedom to provide services.

The Financial Supervision Commission has been notified about opened winding-up proceedings and revoked licence of the insurance undertaking “AIGAION Insurance Company SA”


In accordance with Article 624, Para. 2 of the Code on Insurance the Financial Supervision Commission informs all interested parties that with Decision 261/1/23.2.2018 and Decision № 261/2/23.2.2018 the competent authority of Greece (Bank of Greece):

– revoked the licence of the insurance undertaking “AIGAION Insurance Company SA”;
– prohibited free disposal of all assets of the undertaking;
– opened winding-up proceedings;
– appointed Ms Evangelia Parisi, chartered accountant, as liquidator.

In 2015 “AIGAION Insurance Company SA” set itself under run-off, thereafter operating under the transitional arrangements of Directive 2009/138/EC regarding the compliance with the Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) and Solvency Capital Requirement (SCR). The insurance undertaking achieved compliance with the MCR but did not cover the SCR. On 15 February 2018 the Board of Directors of the undertaking decided to waive attempts to cover the SCR and requested revocation of licence and opening of winding-up proceedings.

The Financial Supervision Commission has adopted a Strategy for Monitoring Financial Innovations in the Non-Banking Financial Sector for the Period 2021-2024.

“Against the background of rapid development of digital technologies and their application in financial services, the Financial Supervision Commission adopted a Strategy for Monitoring Financial Innovations in the Non-Banking Financial Sector for the period 2021-2024. It is also a logical response to the growing need for an adequate legal framework, as well as a basis for building a stable financial environment.“- said in the presentation of the Strategy Boyko Atanasov, Chairman of the FSC.

In the adopted Strategy, the Financial Supervision Commission focuses on four main objectives to address: analysis of the need to introduce requirements for licensing or registration regime of persons offering innovative financial products and / or services and technologies to the non-banking financial sector, as well as development of specific requirements, analysis of the need for regulatory framework for outsourcing services, incl. cloud services and taking appropriate regulatory measures to ensure security, stability of the financial services market and protection of consumers of financial services, development of the existing innovation hub and last but not least monitoring the development of sandbox regimes and outlining follow-up with its possible implementation by the regulator.

According to Mr. Boyko Atanasov, Chairman of the FSC, the Strategy for Monitoring the Financial Innovations of the FSC for the period 2021-2024 continues, but also builds on the tradition of the previous strategy, outlining in the long run the directions in which the FSC would be committed to developing its supervisory activities and seeking the harmonization of national regulatory frameworks and practices in the field of financial innovation at European Union level.

THE FINANCIAL SUPERVISION COMMISSION EXPELLED RSM BULGARIA LTD FROM THE LIST OF THE INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL REVIEWERS OF INSURERS AND PENSION FUNDS

With a decision dated 02.09.2016 FSC expelled RSM Bulgaria Ltd. from the list of the independent external reviewers of insurers and pension funds.

An investigation carried out by the Steering Committee and the FSC has unveiled that the documents provided by the company, contained substantial false information. It was found that there is misleading information, provided in the process of selection and appointment of independent external reviewers to carry out the pension funds’ assets reviews and insurance balance sheets reviews. The candidates were required to provide international teams with high qualification and expertise to carry out the reviews. A number of international partners that were reported by RSM Bulgaria Ltd to be part of the review teams did not have any knowledge of their participation in such reviews, CV’s of such international partners were false and they have reported that the signatures on their CV’s submitted to the FSC were not laid by them. Some of them even declared that the submitted CV’s are false. 

The cited documents were the grounds for the selection of RSM Bulgaria Ltd. by the Steering Committee and the FSC, proving the necessary qualification, experience and availability of resources.  

In addition, it was found, that RSM Bulgaria Ltd. continued to report in the regular submission of documents after the start of the reviews, that such persons carried out work in the reviews, which in the investigation was reported by the same persons to be untrue. The misinformation uncovered involves the misuse of names of international responsible managers, actuaries and other team members in the reviews of different insurance undertakings and pension funds.

The investigation was expanded to cover other independent external reviewers, and for no other reviewer there is any evidence for such misinformation.

Based on the evidence that the documents provided by RSM Bulgaria Ltd. contained serious misinformation, the Steering Committee and the FSC have taken a decision to expel RSM Bulgaria Ltd. from the list of independent external reviewers who can perform reviews in the insurance and the pension funds sector and has cancelled all individual decisions for appointment of RSM Bulgaria Ltd. as an independent external reviewer. The insurers and the pension insurance companies are required to terminate immediately the contracts with RSM Bulgaria Ltd. and to select a new independent external reviewer from the approved list  within a time frame which is specified in a new procedure.

The FSC will inform the respective competent authorities for the results of this investigation to request appropriate legal actions against the responsible persons.

The chair of FSC Karina Karaivanova has stated:
“The conducted investigation and the decisions taken show that the Financial Supervision Commission works in a transparent way and in dialogue with all its partners. As the whole purpose of the exercise mandated by the Parliament is to enhance the credibility of insurance sector and the pension funds sector we see no other way than remove RSM Bulgaria Ltd. from the reviews and we will launch offers to find credible international reviewers to replace RSM Bulgaria Ltd. Regardless of all, we are determined to finalize the reviews before the end of this year.”

THE FINANCIAL SUPERVISION COMMISSION EXPELLED RSM BULGARIA LTD FROM THE LIST OF THE INDEPENDENT EXTERNAL REVIEWERS OF INSURERS AND PENSION FUNDS

With a decision dated 02.09.2016 FSC expelled RSM Bulgaria Ltd. from the list of the independent external reviewers of insurers and pension funds.

An investigation carried out by the Steering Committee and the FSC has unveiled that the documents provided by the company, contained substantial false information. It was found that there is misleading information, provided in the process of selection and appointment of independent external reviewers to carry out the pension funds’ assets reviews and insurance balance sheets reviews. The candidates were required to provide international teams with high qualification and expertise to carry out the reviews. A number of international partners that were reported by RSM Bulgaria Ltd to be part of the review teams did not have any knowledge of their participation in such reviews, CV’s of such international partners were false and they have reported that the signatures on their CV’s submitted to the FSC were not laid by them. Some of them even declared that the submitted CV’s are false. 

The cited documents were the grounds for the selection of RSM Bulgaria Ltd. by the Steering Committee and the FSC, proving the necessary qualification, experience and availability of resources.  

In addition, it was found, that RSM Bulgaria Ltd. continued to report in the regular submission of documents after the start of the reviews, that such persons carried out work in the reviews, which in the investigation was reported by the same persons to be untrue. The misinformation uncovered involves the misuse of names of international responsible managers, actuaries and other team members in the reviews of different insurance undertakings and pension funds.

The investigation was expanded to cover other independent external reviewers, and for no other reviewer there is any evidence for such misinformation.

Based on the evidence that the documents provided by RSM Bulgaria Ltd. contained serious misinformation, the Steering Committee and the FSC have taken a decision to expel RSM Bulgaria Ltd. from the list of independent external reviewers who can perform reviews in the insurance and the pension funds sector and has cancelled all individual decisions for appointment of RSM Bulgaria Ltd. as an independent external reviewer. The insurers and the pension insurance companies are required to terminate immediately the contracts with RSM Bulgaria Ltd. and to select a new independent external reviewer from the approved list  within a time frame which is specified in a new procedure.

The FSC will inform the respective competent authorities for the results of this investigation to request appropriate legal actions against the responsible persons.

The chair of FSC Karina Karaivanova has stated:
“The conducted investigation and the decisions taken show that the Financial Supervision Commission works in a transparent way and in dialogue with all its partners. As the whole purpose of the exercise mandated by the Parliament is to enhance the credibility of insurance sector and the pension funds sector we see no other way than remove RSM Bulgaria Ltd. from the reviews and we will launch offers to find credible international reviewers to replace RSM Bulgaria Ltd. Regardless of all, we are determined to finalize the reviews before the end of this year.”

The Financial Supervision Commission continues the initiatives under its strategic goal for 2019-2021 to increase financial literacy and awareness of changes in the legislative framework

A seminar with a target group of persons supervised by the FSC is forthcoming, and the topics are related to the application of the LMML, the LMFT and the acts on their implementation.

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) plans to organize and conduct an online training seminar for entities supervised by the FSC on topics related to the implementation of measures to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing provided for in the Law on Measures against Money Laundering (LMML), the Law on Measures against Financing of Terrorism (LMFT) and the acts on their implementation, as well as the identified risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, published in the National AML/CFT Risk Assessment published on 19.01.2020 in the Republic of Bulgaria. Issues related to the forthcoming evaluation visit related to the evaluation of the Republic of Bulgaria within the Fifth Evaluation Round of the Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism at the Council of Europe (MONEYVAL) will also be discussed.

The seminar will be opened by Boyko Atanasov, Chairman of the FSC and will be held on 26 August 2021 /Thursday/, from 10:00 to 15:30, through the Microsoft Teams platform, for the following supervised persons:

 investment intermediaries (obligated persons under Art. 4, item 8 of the LMML);

 collective investment schemes and other collective investment undertakings (obligated persons under Art. 4, item 9 of the LMML);

 management companies and persons managing alternative investment funds (obligated persons under Art. 4, item 10 of the LMML);

 pension insurance companies (obligated persons under Art. 4, item 11 of the LMML);

 insurers and insurance intermediaries based in the Republic of Bulgaria who have received a license under the terms and conditions of the Insurance Code when operating in one or more of the classes of insurance under Section I of Appendix No. 1 to the Insurance Code (obligated persons under Art. 4, item 5 of the LMML);

 insurers and insurance intermediaries licensed in another Member State operating on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria when operating under one or more of the classes of insurance under Section I of Appendix No. 1 to the Insurance Code (obligated persons under Art. 4, item 5 of the LMML);

 insurers based in countries other than a Member State licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission to operate in the Republic of Bulgaria through a branch when operating in one or more of the classes of insurance under Section I of Appendix No. 1 to the Insurance Code (obligated persons under Article 4, item 5 of the LMML).

You can confirm your participation by e-mail: lenkova_rd@fsc.bg, no later than 25.08.2021 /Wednesday/ until 12:00.

After confirming your participation you will receive a link to the event.

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote amendments to Ordinance No. 52 of 21.10.2016 on the procedure and manner of deducting the investment fee collected by pension insurance companies in the management of SMPS funds

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote amendments to Ordinance No. 52 of 21.10.2016 on the procedure and manner of deducting the investment fee collected by pension insurance companies in the management of supplementary mandatory pension insurance funds They are dictated by adopted amendments to Art. 201, para. 1, item 3 and para. 2 of the Social Insurance Code (promulgated, SG, 19 /05.03.2021), which introduced a fee collected by the pension insurance companies in the management of the payment funds. The amendments to the ordinance are intended to regulate the procedure for deducting the fee calculated on the net asset value of the payment funds collected by the pension insurance companies in the management of these funds.

The draft and the reasons for it are published on the website of the Financial Supervision Commission in the section Regulations, subsection Public Consultations, and the deadline for submitting comments and proposals on the draft is 14 days from its publication until 22.06.2021 inclusive.

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote a draft Ordinance to amend and supplement Ordinance No. 63 of 8 November 2018

The Financial Supervision Commission considered and adopted at the first vote a draft Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 63 of 8 November 2018 on the requirements for the content, periodicity of preparation and deadlines for submission of reports for supervisory purposes of pension insurance companies and the funds managed by them. The project aims to comply with the amendments made to the Act to Amend and Supplement the Social Insurance Code (promulgated SG No. 19/2021).

Art. 185 of the Social Insurance Code stipulates that the requirements for the content, periodicity of preparation and deadlines for submission of reports for supervisory purposes of the payment funds are regulated by an ordinance of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC). In this regard, the draft ordinance provides for the creation of templates of monthly and annual reports for the payments funds of lifelong pensions and the payment funds, which are submitted to the FSC. The reports are expected to be submitted within the same deadlines as the reports for supervisory purposes of the pension insurance companies and the supplementary pension funds. The adopted approach is to present the reports to the supervisory body in electronic form, signed with a qualified electronic signature, through an electronic portal maintained by the FSC. In accordance with the amendments to the SIC, the current models of reports for supervisory purposes have been updated.

The draft and the reasons for it are published on the website of the Financial Supervision Commission in the section Regulations, subsection Public Consultations, and the deadline for submitting comments and proposals on the draft is 14 days from its publication until 29.06.2021 inclusive.