The Chair of the Financial Supervision Commission – Boyko Atanasov launched the 20th anniversary edition of the educational program for students „The non-banking financial sector in Bulgaria“

On October 21, Mr. Boyko Atanasov – Chair of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) opened the 20th edition of the educational program for students „The non-banking financial sector in Bulgaria“. The traditional initiative is organized in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) and the Atanas Burov Foundation. In the anniversary edition of the event, 22 students from vocational schools with an economic and financial profile from the cities of Blagoevgrad, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Varna, Kyustendil, Plovdiv, Sofia, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo, Shumen, Gotse Delchev, Sliven, Smolyan will take part. , Montana, Silistra, Petrich, Kardzhali, Ruse, Varna, Yambol and Dryanovo.

The educational program is unique in Bulgaria. In its anniversary edition, it presents a balanced content between online-based presentations and virtual interactions, dedicated to the pension insurance, insurance and capital market, with speakers – FSC experts and business representatives.

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„I am honored to launch the 20th anniversary edition of the program, the focus of which is to increase the financial literacy of society. The sustainability of the program, its 20-year history, speaks of consistency, of commitment and, above all, of our responsibility to the generation that grows and is educated in the challenging environment of digitization and innovation.“ shared Mr. Atanasov.

During the training, students and their teachers will learn about the three-pillar model of pension insurance, the development of the insurance market in Bulgaria, the mechanisms for consumer protection, the types of insurance and insurance supervision. The capital market and stock exchange trading are also part of the program during which the topic of the digital field of safe investing is presented, as well as the ways in which investors are protected.

To make the content even richer and more comprehensive, in sync with the latest trends in the non-banking financial sector, in 2022, lectures on fintech business models, prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, the “green deal”, cyber security and cryptocurrencies and more.

„I believe that the shared experience of the experts with whom you will work will help you to be more responsible for your finances, to be drivers of change, but above all with the awareness of financial culture, to have the confidence and courage to pursue your dreams you are.“ said  Mr. Boyko Atanasov in his address to the participants.

The program continues until the middle of November, when all students will receive a certificate for their participation in the educational initiative.

The Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) warns potential investors

The Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) warns potential investors that Infinitrade operating via www.infinitrade.com is not licensed to act as investment intermediary and is not not entitled to carry out investment services and/or investment activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria

 

The Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) warns potential investors and the public that Infinitrade operating via www.infinitrade.com and related company “A & E Products“ LTD. have not been granted any licence for acting as investment intermediaries. Therefore, those companies are not entitled to carry out investment services and/or investment activities on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria; neither they are authorised to receive any funds on their bank accounts for the purpose of investing them in financial instruments.

The FSC warns potential investors that before transferring funds they should always check the FSC’s website to make sure that the company they are dealing with has all permissions for the regulated services and activities.

To find an up-to-date list of companies that are not licensed to perform investment activities please click here

Further, potential investors can check for warnings about possible scams the sites of:

–          ESMA – https://www.esma.europa.eu/investor-corner/warning-and-publications-investors/, and

–          International Organization of Securities Commission (IOSCO) – www.iosco.org/investor_protection/?subsection=investor_alerts_portal.

The application of the Short Selling Regulation has begun since 1 November 2012

Since 1 November 2012 the application of the Regulation (EU) No 236/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 on short selling and certain aspects of credit default swaps (the Regulation) has commenced.

In the Regulation and its implementing acts there are requirements for information disclosure to national competent authorities by natural and legal persons having net short positions in relation to issued share capital of an entity, whose shares have been admitted to trading. The notification threshold, as stated in art. 5 of the Regulation, is 0.2 % of the issued share capital of the relevant entity and each 0.1 % above this percent.

The requirement for disclosure to the national competent authority comes into force on the first day following the day of starting applying the Regulation, i.e. on 2 November 2012. The relevant time for calculation of a net short position is at midnight at the end of the trading day on which the natural or legal person holds the relevant position. The disclosure is made not later than 15.30 on the following trading day.

With regard to the Regulation a new section on the FSC’s website was created – Short selling – http://www.fsc.bg/en/registers-and-checks/short-selling/notification-templates/ . The texts of the main Regulation and the Deledated Regulations in Bulgarian and in English were published in this section. In accordance with the accepted in the Delegated Regulations formats for information disclosure the FSC has prepared and published notification templates in .xls format in Short Selling Section. These templates have to be sent to the national supervisor by persons having net short position in shares of at least 0.2 %.

The notifications should:
– be sent to the following e-mail address: delovodstvo@fsc.bg, signed with electronic signature; or 
– be sent by post mail, accompanied by a durable medium (containing .xls file); or
– be submitted in the FSC premises, accompanied by a durable medium.

The Regulation contains provisions for public disclosure of information regarding the net short positions of natural and legal persons in respect of the issued share capital of the entity whose shares are admitted to trading. In this case the threshold, according to art. 21 of the European Commission Delegated Regulation № 918/2012 of 5 July 2012 supplementing Regulation № 236/2012, is 0.5 % of the issued share capital of the entity and each 0.1% above this percent.

Notification templates for public disclosure of information can be found in the Short Selling Section / Notification templates. They should: 
– be sent to the email address: delovodstvo@fsc.bg , signed with electronic signature; or
– be sent by post mail, accompanied by a durable medium (containing .xls file); or
– be submitted in the FSC premises, accompanied by a durable medium.

Public disclosure will be made by the FSC in Short Selling Section / Information on significant net short positions in shares.
Information regarding the obligation for information disclosure by natural or legal persons of significant net short positions in sovereign debt and of uncovered positions in sovereign credit default swaps might be found on internet page of the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance: http://www.minfin.bg/en/page/819.

The 3rd Meeting of the Euroins Insurance Group College of Supervisors took place

On December 11th and 12th, a meeting of the Euroins Insurance Group College of Supervisors was held at the premises of the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) in Sofia for the third consecutive year.
The first (closed) session of the supervisors was attended by representatives of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA), the Romanian Insurance Supervisory Commission, the Insurance Supervisory Agency of Macedonia, and FSC experts from the Insurance Supervision Division and the International Cooperation Directorate. At the session, the results of the operation of the Group and its subsidiaries in Romania and Macedonia in 2012 were discussed, and some recent legislative changes were announced.
On the second day, which was held in an open format, representatives of Euroins Insurance Group Ltd., Bulgaria made a presentation on the position and the future plans of the Group in connection with the forthcoming introduction of the EU Solvency II Directive.
Following the presentations and discussions, conclusions were made and appropriate measures for 2013 were identified.
The official representative of EIOPA, Ms. Rita Szep, expressed her satisfaction from the meeting held by the Supervisory College. She emphasized the excellent cooperation and the significant results in the exchange of information and experience between the three authorities. She also made some recommendations and welcomed the efforts made by the Management and the personnel of Euroins Insurance Group Ltd., Bulgaria to strengthen the holding, to expand its market share, and to bring its operation in line with the EU requirements.

According to the Statute of EIOPA, one of its functions is to monitor the annual meetings and to coordinate the activity of the supervisory colleges for cross-border insurance groups.