Therefore, a range of banks should especially focus on this issue. As Anatoly Aksakov has already noted, the Bank of Russia granted regulatory easing last year so as to enable banks to promptly adjust to operation in crisis conditions and, which is even more important, to support their clients while adjusting. Moreover, we analysed regulatory easing in other countries. I should say that the regulatory easing in Russia is much more extensive than in many other states. However, it is crucial to understand all the concerns expressed by the banking community regarding the termination of regulatory relaxations. Since the very launch of them, we have been stressing that this regulatory easing is temporary and should be ended in due time so as to prevent any hidden problems that may emerge inside the banking system. In the future, hidden problems may become a source of systemic risks and we should therefore avoid this. As I have already said, if we estimate the potential amount of issues related to restructured loans in the current situation and banks’ revenues as the banking system’s profit decreased by 6% against 2019, we will see that there are no reasons why anti-crisis measures should not be terminated gradually. We believe that the regulatory relaxations for restructured loans should be cancelled according to the earlier announced schedule, that is, by 1 July. There may be still one exception. Namely, we are ready to continue loan restructuring for small and medium-sized businesses in the regions where restrictions for such enterprises are still in place.

Actual membership in the Banking Union will further deepen our partnership with the ECB, the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the Single Resolution Mechanism. Regarding supervision, according to the European Central Bank’s rules the ECB will supervise the biggest banks in Bulgaria and the BNB’s experts will participate in joint supervisory teams. This joint work will cover the off-site supervision aimed at on-going risk monitoring and assessment and also the on-site examinations in banks operating in Bulgaria. The other banks in Bulgaria will remain under the BNB’s supervision, but supervisory information about them will be exchanged with the ECB continuously. The joint work with the ECB will also cover many spheres of the practical organisation and operation of banking supervision. For example, the BNB’s experts will have direct access to the overall analytical expertise in the Single Supervisory Mechanism. Historical experience shows that the accession to this mechanism generates new synergy between the national competent authorities and the ECB, and it is a two-way process. Along with joining the Single Supervisory Mechanism, Bulgaria will also join the Single Resolution Mechanism. This would imply distribution of responsibilities and powers between the Single Resolution Board and the BNB as the national authority for resolution of credit institutions. Bulgaria’s legal framework for joining the Single Resolution Mechanism is already in place. The preparation for joining the Single Resolution Fund, including for calculating banks’ contributions to the Fund, and the preparation of the bank resolution planning process after joining the Single Resolution Mechanism are very advanced.